Twisted Metal: Crossover Clash
by SSBFreak
Summary: Sixteen contestants from all over the VG Universe duke it out in the most destructive game of vehicular combat ever created.
1. The Drivers

The Drivers

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Okay. Here's how this is going to go. Because I had fun writing my Vigilante 8 story, I decided to tackle another video game that centers around vehicular destruction, and probably the most popular of its kind: Twisted Metal. Like Vigilante 8, Twisted Metal has a story, but this one is a little more straightforward.

Rather than having three teams, it's every man for himself. The winner of the competition gets one wish from the founder, Calypso. However, in the games, Calypso would often twist the words of the winner's wish so he would get the last laugh in the end.

Example: A ghost wishes to come back to life to finish his work, so he wishes to be reborn. Calypso, instead of granting his wish the way he wants, turns him into an infant.

Thankfully, I won't be doing things like that (as you'll find out why in the next chapter). Like in my Vigilante 8 story, the drivers will be various video game characters, each of them having been invited to this unusual tournament to get one wish for whatever they desire at the end. Here are the tournament entries:

**OUTLAW**

**Driver: SAM (Sam & Max)**

**Vehicle Description: A police cruiser with the hood pulled down.**

**Driver Description: Tall dog with brown fur. Wears a blue suit, a fedora and a pair of slacks.**

**Special Note: Sam & Max were the perfect team. Keyword, were…**

**CRIMSON FURY**

**Driver: MILES EDGEWORTH (Phoenix Wright)**

**Vehicle Description: A sleek, red, sports car. It looks relatively new…**

**Driver Description: Tall man with silver hair. Wears a light purple suit anda pair of neatly-polished shoes.**

**Special Note: When Edgeworth was just a kid, his father was killed before his eyes…**

**AXEL**

**Driver: TINY TIGER (Crash Bandicoot)**

**Vehicle Description: An unusual device consisting of two huge wheels and a platform connecting them. Tiny is attached to the machine in between the wheels.**

**Driver Description: Huge, orange tiger wearing a leopard-print skirt and a pair of sneakers.**

**Special Note: All Tiny wanted was a better life…**

**MR. GRIM**

**Driver: LANDIS (Suikoden 3)**

**Vehicle Description: A motorbike with a sidecar. It looks like there's a skull on the front of the bike…**

**Driver Description: Tall humanoid with a pair of black wings. Has brown hair, a blindfold that covers his right eye, a red shirt and black pants. His feet have talons.**

**Special Note: Landis has always been 'the Grim Reaper's best friend', but for some reason, he seems to hate him now…**

**FIRESTARTER**

**Driver: SCORCH (Army Men)**

**Vehicle Description: A small, modified, red, fire truck. Has a ladder hanging on each side and the entire top half of the truck is gone.**

**Driver Description: A green homanoid made of plastic. Has two bangs of green hair hanging in front of his face. Wears a green shirt, green pants and has a flamethrower on his back.**

**Special Note: Years ago, the green army was completely wiped out…**

**SPECTRE**

**Driver: MIKE DAWSON (Seed 1 & 2)**

**Vehicle Description: An old-looking, black and yellow car. It looks like it should have fallen apart by now…**

**Driver Description: Young man with a full head of dark hair, complete with a full mustache. Wears a beige jacket and a pair of black pants. Being a ghost, his entire body is faded, whitish and transparent.**

**Special Note: Mike was on a special mission before meeting his untimely end…**

**ATV**

**Driver: MONA (Wario Ware)**

**Vehicle Description: Nothing much more than a red ATV with 'Mona Pizza' written on the side of it.**

**Driver Description: Woman with long and curly red hair. Wears a brown cap with goggles, a red top and shorts and a white coat.**

**Special Note: Mona always WAS at odds with Pizza Dinosaur…**

**THUMPER**

**Driver: ALLY GATOR (Black & Bruised)**

**Vehicle Description: A long, purple low-rider. The images of snakes are seen painted down each side and along the hood.**

**Driver Description: Medium-height woman with long, red hair. Wears a teal baseball cap, a teal shirt and green pants.**

**Special Note: Ally was doing great in the boxing circuit until everything went downhill…**

**HAMMERHEAD**

**Driver: BRIAN BATTLER (King of Fighters)**

**Vehicle Description: A huge, blue monster truck with added lights and grills.**

**Driver Description: Tall man with short, brown hair. Wears a blue jersey, a pair of jeans and a silver shoulder pad.**

**Special Note: Brian and his friends haven't seen a lot of work in a long time…**

**WARTHOG**

**Driver: GENERAL GUY (Paper Mario)**

**Vehicle Description: Huge, multicoloured tank that looks like it's built out of toys.**

**Driver Description: Short Shyguy wearing a gray cloak and a white general's cap.**

**Special Note: General Guy was in charge of the biggest army of Shyguys in the world…**

**DARKSIDE**

**Driver: BIG THE CAT (Sonic the Hedgehog)**

**Vehicle Description: Huge, black, front end of a flatbed truck.**

**Driver Description: Large, overweight, purple cat with yellow eyes and a brown belt.**

**Special Note: Big has always been the brunt of many insults and jokes because of his lack of intellect…**

(Author's note: Yeah, I know Big is probably the LEAST likely person to drive Darkside, especially when the original driver of it was a demon.)

**ROADKILL**

**Driver: ROCKY RODENT (Rocky Rodent)**

**Vehicle Description: Orange car that looks like it hasn't been on the road in years.**

**Driver Description: Short, purple rodent with a red spike hairstyle. Wears a yellow tank-top, blue shots and sneakers.**

**Special Note: Rocky's city was always a great place to live…**

**SHADOW**

**Driver: DEMITRI MAXIMOV (Darkstalkers)**

**Vehicle Description: Long, black hearse with brown doors on the back. There's a silver bat for a hood ornament.**

**Driver Description: Brown-haired vampire with spiked hair. Wears a blue suit and a black cape.**

**Special Note: Demitri has always been after a wife, but he seems to have a plan this time…**

**TWISTER**

**Driver: SYLVIA (Viewtiful Joe)**

**Vehicle Description: Bright blue F1 racing car with yellow fenders and spoilers.**

**Driver Description: Short woman with blonde hair and glasses. Wears a turquoise dress.**

**Special Note: Sylvia's always looked up to her father and boyfriend…**

**GRASSHOPPER**

**Driver: SAKURA (Street Fighter)**

**Vehicle Description: Green dune buggy with a brown cage-like 'roof'.**

**Driver Description: Teenage schoolgirl with brown hair and a white headband. Wears a white blouse and a blue skirt.**

**Special Note: If Sakura ever had a hero in her life, it would be Ryu…**

**MR. SLAM**

**Driver: SERGEI (Rayman: Raving Rabbids)**

**Vehicle Description: Large, yellow construction vehicle that looks like a cross between a crane and bulldozer.**

**Driver Description: Huge, brown and gray rabbit with bulging muscles and glowing, red eyes.**

**Special Note: Sergei was the only rabbid to truly befriend Rayman…**

Those are all of the contestants. However, these next three characters, whom act as bosses, have also entered the competition and will get chapters once all of the contestants have had their turn. The three bosses are…

**SWEET TOOTH**

**Driver: SYPHER (Loonatics: Unleashed)**

**Vehicle Description: White ice cream truck littered with pictures of treats.**

**Driver Description: Medium-sized man with yellow and red hair spiked upwards. His suit is similarly coloured.**

**Special Note: The founders thought that they invited Danger Duck…**

**MANSLAUGHTER**

**Driver: SANDMAN (Spiderman)**

**Vehicle Description: Dump truck filled with sand. Has a snowplow blade attached to the front of it.**

**Driver Description: Tall man with short, brown hair. Wears a striped, green shirt and brown pants.**

**Special Note: Flint wants a second chance, and he'll do anything to get it…**

**MINION**

**Driver: ANIMAL (The Muppet Show)**

**Vehicle Description: Huge, gray, oil tanker (yeah, pretty smart in a game of vehicular destruction, eh?)**

**Driver Description: Orange-skinned creature with messy, red hair. Wears a yellow shirt with blue shorts.**

**Special Note: Muppet Theatre was the only real place Animal called home…**

Okay. Like with my Vigilante 8 story, I'll be writing about the cutscenes in the game rather than the actual fights. For the contestants, I won't be going in any real order. I'll just do the first one that comes into my head and do it that way.


	2. Intro

Intro

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A police car drove away from the wreckage of a totaled ice cream truck. Said ice cream truck was on fire and in at least five pieces.

"Hopefully, that psychotic clown will STAY down this time." The male officer, Carl Roberts, driving the police car said before turning to the female officer, his sister. "Just a couple more fights and we'll have won again, Jamie."

The female officer, Jamie Roberts, simply flashed a thumbs-up. She would have given a verbal response, but she was currently without a mouth.

Carl and Jamie were no strangers to the Twisted Metal contest and knew the founder, Calypso, really well. Twisted Metal was a competition of vehicular destruction where the winner would get one wish as a reward. Unfortunately, Calypso was just as sick and twisted as the contest, and often twisted the words of the winner's wish to give himself a good laugh.

In the first contest, Carl entered solo and won. He wished for a world without crime, and Calypso granted the wish by sending both Carl and his car into outer space. Jamie entered the year after and also won, demanding that she see her brother. Calypso granted her wish by sending her into space as well. Thankfully, Jamie had come prepared for Calypso's treachery and managed to get both siblings back to Earth.

However, in the most recent tournament, the two siblings entered together. Jamie was going to wish for the tournament to stop altogether, but Carl was entering to kill Calypso in revenge for what he had done to them. After the two had won, Carl had pulled his gun on Calypso, but Jamie interfered, telling her brother that Calypso needed to be sent to prison for what he had done. This started a heated argument between the two, and it ended when Carl blurted out 'I wish you'd just shut up!'. Naturally, Calypso granted his wish, even though it really wasn't his wish. Calypso sealed Jamie's mouth, and she had been like that ever since.

Now the two had entered Twisted Metal again. Both siblings knew that Calypso was anticipating their wish to be Jamie's mouth unsealed, but unknown to the evil founder, the two police officers were doing a little scheming of their own.

Eventually, the tournament was over. Carl and Jamie had just defeated their final opponent and were approaching Calypso's lair on foot. However, before they got there, they turned to someone hiding in the shadows.

"I kept my end of the bargain and helped you win." A deep voice said from the shadows. "Remember to keep up yours."

"Don't worry. Once Calypso grants our wish, he's all yours." Carl assured.

"I've always thought humans were pathetic, but you two are different." The voice said. "For some reason, I feel compelled to trust you."

Carl and Jamie entered Calypso's lair and saw the long-haired founder of Twisted Metal standing on a platform, waiting for them. He clapped slowly a couple of times.

"I must say that I'm impressed, officers." Calypso said with a smirk. "I don't even think Needles Kane has won as many times as you two."

"We're determined." Carl replied simply. Jamie narrowed her eyes at Calypso, unable to say anything. Calypso saw her predicament and smirked.

"Ah, yes. I remember your last wish." He said with a smirk.

"That wasn't my wish and you know it, Calypso." Carl spat.

"Well, let's forget the past. What's important is the current time." Calypso said. "You two are once again the winners. What is your wish? I take it you want me to give your sister her mouth back?"

Carl smirked back at the evil man. "No."

This wasn't the response Calypso was expecting, as his eyes widened slightly. "No? Then, what is it?" He asked.

"Calypso, I wish for you to give Jamie and I your powers." Carl replied.

Calypso's eyes widened even more. "You can't be serious." He said.

"I'm serious, Calypso." Carl replied. Jamie gave a nod in agreement.

Calypso looked back and forth between the two officers and finally gave in. "Granted." He said as he lifted his hands into the air, sending a blast of energy into each of the Roberts siblings.

When the energy subsided, Carl stood to his feet and clenched his fist. "Alright! I feel so much stronger, now!" He said before looking into the shadows. "He's all yours!"

With that, a huge, inhuman creature with horns jumped onto the scene. Calypso stepped back in horror.

"M-Minion!" Calypso shrieked.

"We made a deal with him, Calypso." Carl explained. "We'd help him get you if he helped us win."

"I can't go!!" Calypso screamed as Minion approached him and started gathering flames in his hands. "If I go, Twisted Metal will cease to exist!!"

"Don't you worry about that, Calypso." Jamie, having used her newfound powers on herself and giving herself her mouth back. "Carl and I are going to take over. We just need to make a few adjustments to the rules."

"First off, we're only going to invite people whom DESERVE the wish." Carl said. "None of those homicidal maniacs you like to invite."

"Next, NO ONE is going to die." Jamie continued. "When a car explodes, we'll get the driver to safety."

"Finally, no words will be twisted in the winner's wish." Carl finished. "We're not going to edit someone's wish just so we can get a cheap laugh, Calypso. We're better than that."

Calypso wasn't exactly paying attention, because Minion had already grabbed him and was lifting him off the ground. The huge creature looked at the Roberts siblings and gave a smile.

"Have fun with the tournament." Minion said. "I'm sure you can run it better than Calypso."

With that, a pillar of fire exploded from the ground beneath Minion, engulfing both him and Calypso. When the fire subsided, both were gone, leaving only the Roberts siblings in Calypso's lair, although it could technically be called theirs now.

"Well, I guess this means that we're the owners of Twisted Metal, now." Jamie shrugged. "What should we do first?"

"Let's do some research and try to find some people worthy of the wish." Carl suggested.

"Okay. Remember that Needles Kane isn't allowed in, now."

"Don't worry. Haven't forgotten. We don't need HIM running around rampant."

Carl and Jamie spent a good while trying to find enough people worthy enough of a wish. After what seemed like a lifetime, they finally had their contestants.

"Shall we send out the invitations, then?" Jamie asked with a smirk.

"Let's do that." Carl nodded.

**(Intro to Game)**

_(Clips of several invitations being delivered are seen. Contestants such as Edgeworth, Tiny, Mona and Sam are seen opening their invitations and reading them.)_

"Greeting, contestants. You may not know of us, but we're Carla and Jamie Roberts, owners of a little contest called Twisted Metal." Carl explained.

_(Landis is seen reading an invitation in the forest.)_

"This is a contest of vehicular destruction, but don't worry. We will see to it that no one shall be killed." Jamie explained.

_(The ghost of Mike Dawson is seen reading an invitation in a realm of deceased souls. Bidding farewell to Ben Parker and Aeris, Mike departs.)_

"There are sixteen of you, but only one will win the grand prize at the end. A wish. Whatever the winner desires, it will be given to them."

_(Sergei is seen reading an invitation in the Rabbid Stadium. His eyes light up.)_

"You supply the vehicle ad we'll supply the weapons."

_(The next shot shows a stadium, where Outlaw, Mr. Slam, Grasshopper and Firestarter are seen in the four corners of the arena, preparing to start the battle.)_

"We wish you good luck in the tournament."

_(Grasshopper flies over Outlaw. Sam leans out the window as he drives and shoots a couple of bullets from his handgun into the framework of Sakura's car, but it does little to slow her down. Sam ducks back into his car and swerves to the side to avoid a wrecking ball from Sergei in Mr. Slam.)_

"Really. You're all going to need it."

_(Driving Firestarter around and turning it so that it faces all three of his opponents, Scorch grins maniacally as he presses a button, firing a huge wave of fire at the opponents.)_

To be continued…


	3. Crimson Fury

Crimson Fury – Miles Edgeworth

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**(Intro)**

Edgeworth sat alone in his office, looking over the papers for a new case he was considering taking. He had literally just finished another case, but it really wasn't all that hard to get a guilty verdict. Not only was the defendant clearly the guilty party, but the lawyer defending him wasn't Phoenix Wright.

"Wright always WAS the only one that could beat me in court." Edgeworth mused. He was half-considering taking the case with hopes of it being more of a challenge to win.

Unfortunately, Edgeworth wasn't given enough time to ponder any further. The door to his office opened and in walked Dick Gumshoe, a detective that was loyal to Edgeworth, but also good friends with Phoenix.

"Yes? What is it, Gumshoe?" Edgeworth asked.

"Just delivering the mail, Mr. Edgeworth." Gumshoe replied placing a small stack of letters on the corner of Edgeworth's desk.

As quick as he had come, Gumshoe left the office. Edgeworth stared at his mail for a couple of seconds before deciding that doing something else might help him take his mind of his current predicament.

Edgeworth grabbed the stack of letters with one hand and started flipping through them to see if he had received anything interesting. Nope. Just the usual stuff. Bills, reports, fan-mail (yeah, lots of fan-mail).

However, one particular letter caught Edgeworth's eye. He noticed the red trim around the envelope and his name written in fancy lettering on the front. Wondering what it was, Edgeworth ripped open the envelope and pulled the card from within it. Opening the card, Edgeworth started reading and soon found what it was.

"An…Invitation?" Edgeworth asked. "To a contest called 'Twisted Metal'…"

Edgeworth had honestly never heard of the contest. However, he seemed intrigued by it. The contest definitely seemed interesting…

The silver-haired man's eyes widened when he saw one phrase on the card saying that the winner would get a wish granted. Anything their heart desired, they would get it.

"Anything my heart desires…" Edgeworth mused. "Is…Is that actually possible?"

Edgeworth pondered for all of ten seconds. Once said ten seconds were up, Edgeworth stood from his chair and left his office, invitation in hand.

Gumshoe was out in the hallway, passing by, when he saw Edgeworth leaving his office. Suddenly seeing that he was heading towards the front door of the building.

"Mr. Edgeworth, where are ya going?" Gumshoe asked as he turned and started walking after Edgeworth.

"I've received a chance I don't think I'll ever get again." Edgeworth said simply as he pushed through the front door leading outside. "I'll be gone for a bit."

"But what about this new case?" Gumshoe asked.

"Give it to Godot or something. I can honestly say that I think I'll enjoy this little contest more than a routine case." Edgeworth replied as he started walking down the stone steps outside the building, going towards his red car was parked.

"Where are ya going?!" Gumshoe called out as Edgeworth got into his car.

Edgeworth started his car, then looked towards Gumshoe. "Keep your eyes on the TV. From what this invitation tells me, it's going to be televised." He said.

With that, Edgeworth backed his car out of the parking space it was in and drove off, leaving a confused Gumshoe standing on the steps, scratching his head.

**(Pre-Level One)**

Edgeworth wasn't one to get intimidated very easily, but after seeing his competition, he honestly didn't like his chances. While there were a number of 'normal' contestants such as the redhead woman on the ATV or the large dog in the police car, there were a few contestants that were starting to freak him out. As such, once meeting the competition, Edgeworth tried steering clear of the muscled rabbit in the crane and the large tiger in the strange, two-wheeled contraption.

Currently, Edgeworth was standing in a line in the middle of a packed stadium. In the line were the sixteen contestants, their respective vehicles parked just behind them, several mechanics working on all of them.

Suddenly, a large screen hanging from the ceiling turned on, showing two faces. Edgeworth didn't see them at first, but felt a quick tap on the shoulder (courtesy of Scorch). Edgeworth turned and saw everyone else looking up, so he did the same.

"Greetings, contestants." The male figure said. "I am Carl Roberts and this is my sister Jamie."

"Thank you for agreeing to participate in this tournament." Jamie added. "You are obviously aware of what is at stake, here."

"Currently, some of our men are fixing up the vehicles you all brought with high-powered weapons." Carl said. "Believe me. You need them to survive here."

"The aim of this contest is to be the last vehicle standing. If your vehicle explodes, you're out of the tournament, but don't worry. We have the technology to get you out of your car safely before it blows." Jamie said.

"However, you don't just have yourselves to worry about." Carl pointed out. "We have also invited three individuals to act as bosses that will fight the winner of a specific round."

"The final winner at the end will be the one that will earn the grand prize: A wish. Whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't involve us giving up our powers, will be granted."

"Good luck, everyone. May the best driver win!" The two siblings said as one.

Edgeworth turned and walked towards his car, which had just been finished getting worked on. Maybe this would prove to be entertaining…

**(Pre-Level Three)**

Edgeworth drove his car, dubbed 'Crimson Fury' into a parking lot to await his next battle. Edgeworth had managed to get through he first two rounds of the contest, which meant that he had a chance to actually win the entire thing if he continued his success.

"That's strange." Edgeworth mused as he looked around the empty parking lot. "I was told my next fight would be here, but I don't see any of the others here."

Suddenly, Edgeworth heard a strange tune being played. Looking to his right, Edgeworth saw a white ice cream truck driving onto the scene, the music coming from the speakers on the roof.

"What the?!" Edgeworth shouted as he drove out of the way of the oncoming truck.

As soon as Edgeworth had driven to the side, the ice cream truck did a spin before coming to a stop right beside the red car, revealing a man with red and yellow hair.

"What's wrong with you?!" Edgeworth shouted. "You could have killed me!"

"Dude, that's what I was trying to do." The man replied with a sly smirk. "The name's Sypher. I'm the boss of this zone."

"You CAN'T be serious." Edgeworth said flatly upon seeing the ice cream truck the man was driving. "You don't look like much of a threat at all."

"Hey, I didn't steal Duck's invitation to get mocked, pal." Sypher said as he drove ahead a bit and turned around to face Edgeworth. "I'm going to beat you and win this thing to get that wish!"

Edgeworth narrowed his eyes and started his car. From the looks of things, this guy had entered the contest with someone else's invitation. He didn't deserve the wish at the end, and Edgeworth wanted to make sure that he saw to it that Sypher was put out of commission.

**(After Battle)**

Edgeworth had just dealt the final blow. An explosion erupted from somewhere in the engine, making the hood of Sweet Tooth, Syper's ice cream truck, fly off and land several feet away.

"N-No! This can't be!!" Sypher cried in disbelief as his truck started to break down. "How could I lose?!"

That was all Sypher could get out before Sweet Tooth exploded in a ball of fire. Edgeworth sat back to watch the show, knowing that even though he didn't deserve it, Sypher was warped away before his truck went up.

"Hmph. Well, that's that." Edgeworth said as he started his car, turned around and drove out of the parking lot, to where the next battle would be taking place.

**(Pre-Level Five)**

After managing to score two more wins in the contest, Edgeworth found himself driving into a construction yard. Like with the parking lot where he fought Sweet Tooth, it was empty.

"Hmm…No opponents again." Edgeworth mused. "I wonder if that means I'm going to fight another one of those 'bosses'…"

Hearing an engine revving up, Edgeworth found himself looking upwards, towards a dirt ramp leading into the 'arena'. A large vehicle shot off the ramp and soared overtop of Crimson Fury before landing on the ground. When Edgeworth took a better look, it was a dump truck.

"I take it you're my opponent?" Edgeworth asked, his eyebrow raised.

"Yes." The brown-haired man driving the dump truck nodded. "My name's Flint Marko, but most people know me as 'Sandman'."

"I've heard of you." Edgeworth nodded, eyes narrowed. "I certainly hope that you haven't stolen an invitation like that Sypher fellow."

"I entered this legitimately, but I need the wish." Sandman replied, revving up his vehicle. "I have to take you down to get to the end and get that wish, and I'm going to see to it that I get it."

"I'm afraid I have to halt those plans of yours." Edgeworth said as he started his car as well. "I need that wish as well."

**(After Battle)**

Sandman's eyes widened as he looked around at Manslaughter, his dump truck. Parts were starting to fall off and explosions were starting to erupt all around the vehicle.

"No! NO!" Sandman cried. "PENNY!!"

With that, Manslaughter exploded, sending the sand it was carrying scattering all over the construction site.

Edgeworth's gaze softened as some sand splattered against his windshield. Sandman may have been a criminal, but judging from that final outburst, he had entered for a good reason. Thankfully, he had been taken from the dump truck just before it exploded, meaning that he had survived.

Suddenly, Edgeworth's gaze hardened again, returning it to his usual, emotionless gaze. He may have caused Sandman to lose his chance at a wish, but he himself still had a chance to get a wish of his own.

Staring Crimson Fury again, Edgeworth turned around and drove out of the construction site. His chances at winning the entire contest were now looking a lot better.

**(Pre-Level Seven)**

Edgeworth couldn't believe how close he was getting to winning, especially after having cleared two more rounds of the contest. Edgeworth now found himself driving into the huge courtyard of an old, medieval castle. Edgeworth looked at the huge castle in awe.

"I would hate to accidentally destroy something like that." Edgeworth said to himself before looking around and finding the courtyard empty again. "Great. It's empty. That must mean that-"

Edgeworth didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because the gates on the other side of the courtyard were burst open. A huge vehicle barreled into the courtyard and came to a halt. Edgeworth jumped in his seat, but relaxed when he saw the huge vehicle, identified as some sort of oil tanker, come to a stop.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Edgeworth demanded.

A furry, red head leaned out the driver's window. "Animal win contest!" The creature shouted determinedly. "Animal get wish and everything better!"

"He's not even human. He's…He's…I don't even know what he is." Edgeworth said. "But he seems intent on the prize."

He knew that it wouldn't be an easy task, but Edgeworth had come too far in the contest to give up now. Throwing Crimson Fury into gear again, Edgeworth drove towards the oil tanker, attempting to take down the demented being at the wheel.

**(After Battle)**

Animal didn't even get to shout in disbelief. Minion, the huge oil tanker he was driving, exploded in a huge ball of fire, sending debris and pieces of the metal monstrosity flying in all directions.

One piece of Minion flew straight towards Crimson Fury, striking it in the side. Edgeworth shook inside the car, bouncing around and quickly hitting his head on the steering wheel, making himself black out.

Edgeworth wasn't sure how long he was out, but while he was, he heard voices from a day he'd been trying SO hard to forget.

"_Daddy, I'm scared…"_

"_**I know you are, Miles. Don't worry. The power will come back on, soon."**_

"_**Hey! Keep quiet! We're in an elevator! We only have a limited amount of air!"**_

"_**Just calm down, pal. We'll be out of this, soon."**_

"_**How can you be so sure?! We could be running out of air now and your kid is wasting it with all of that sobbing!"**_

"_**Don't talk like that about him. He's only a kid."**_

"_Daddy, where are you? I can't see a thing!"_

"_**Shut your kid up or I'll MAKE him shut up!"**_

"…_**You wouldn't dare!"**_

_**BANG!**_

Edgeworth's eyes snapped open as he shot back into a sitting position, breathing heavily. After a few seconds, his eyes narrowed.

"I'm incredibly close to winning." Edgeworth said. "This is my big chance. I'm not going to blow it now."

With that, Edgeworth turned around and drove off to his next battle.

**(Level Eight)**

Edgeworth won one final round in the contest before moving onto the eighth round, the final battle. Edgeworth had to admit that he was a little nervous as he drove onto the rooftop of a large building to await his opponent.

"This is the battlefield?" Edgeworth asked. "I'll need to be careful here."

Suddenly hearing another care driving onto the scene, Edgeworth turned his head and saw a large, black version of Sweet Tooth driving onto the roof. The driver was a VERY disturbed individual.

"So you're the last one standing, eh?" Needles Kane, the psychotic clown and Twisted Metal mascot when the contest still belonged to Calypso, laughed. "This'll be easy! Those Roberts siblings will rue the day they banished me from the tournament!"

"Another lunatic. Great." Edgeworth muttered. "If you were banished from the tournament, how come you're still here?"

"Isn't it obvious? I sneaked in and took the place of the final boss those new owners picked." Needles said with an insane grin. "And now, all that's left for me to do is to wipe you out."

Edgeworth narrowed his eyes and started his car again. "This is it. The final battle. Just one more fight and I can get my wish."

**(Ending)**

Carl and Jamie Roberts stood on a large, round platform, awaiting the winner of the contest to enter the 'lair', which looked more like a junkyard with all of the broken car parts scattered around.

Suddenly, the large doors at the other side of the lair opened and in rode a car, the winning vehicle.

Jamie noticed the sleek, red hood of the oncoming car and smirked. "Isn't that Crimson Fury?" She asked her brother.

"Indeed it is." Carl nodded as the vehicle came to a stop. "And that can only mean that the winner is…"

Edgeworth stepped out of Crimson Fury and walked up onto the platform to join the Roberts siblings, a smirk on his face the whole time.

"Miles Edgeworth. Master prosecution attorney." Carl greeted. "Congratulations. You've won this year's Twisted Metal contest."

"You needn't worry about the others. They're all fine." Jamie added. "Some of our best mechanics are rebuilding their vehicles so that they can get back home safely."

"You may claim your prize, Mr. Edgeworth." Carl pointed out. "One wish, whatever your heart desires, will be granted."

Edgeworth nodded and gave his reply. "My father was the best defense attorney I had ever seen. He even gives Phoenix Wright a run for his money. I always looked up to him, but one night, we got trapped in an elevator with a security guard. Pretty soon, my dad got into a scuffle with him because I think he was trying to protect me, but then I heard a shot ring out." Edgeworth took a breath to let all of it sink in. "By the time the doors opened again, my father was already dead. I spent many years thinking that it was my fault before finally finding out that the culprit was actually outside the elevator at the time."

"That's horrible, Mr. Edgeworth." Jamie sighed. "So what is your wish? We DO have the ability to bring dead people back, you know."

"Indeed. If you wish, we can have your father returned to you." Carl added.

"No. My father is probably enjoying himself right now." Edgeworth shook his head. "I don't want to ruin it for him by giving him a mortal life again."

"Then…What's your wish?" Jamie asked, an eyebrow raised.

Edgeworth narrowed his eyes at the thoughts he was having. "The man that killed him actually _got away with it_. Sure, he was humiliated, was banned from the courtroom and had his prosecution attorney's badge taken from him, but he pretty much got away unpunished. It was because that the case took so long to solve that the punishment was barely there." Edgeworth looked into the eyes of the tournament owners. "Officers, I wish that Manfred Von Karma would pay for his crimes."

Carl and Jamie looked at each other in surprise. Jamie bit her lip as she turned back to Edgeworth.

"Mr. Edgeworth, we wouldn't normally accept wishes like that." Jamie pointed out. "However, because this man got away with murder, we'll make an exception. This is one thing we just can't ignore."

"Right. We'll grant your wish, but remember that Mr. Von Karma will have to commit another crime for the full punishment to take effect." Carl said.

"That's fine." Edgeworth nodded. "Just as long as he gets what he deserves."

The siblings looked at each other and nodded before turning back to the victor. "Granted." They said as one as they lifted their arms into the air. Strange, blue energy flew from the arms of both siblings before flying off into the distance.

"Your wish has been granted, Mr. Edgeworth." Carl said. "By the time you return to where you came from, he should probably be in jail."

Edgeworth bowed politely. "Thank you very much, officers." He said. "I won't bother you any further."

With that, Edgeworth turned around, walked back to Crimson Fury, got in and drove off.

111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

Edgeworth arrived at the large building his office was in again. Jumping out of his car, Edgeworth strolled up the stairs with a smirk on his face, confident that Von Karma had finally gotten what he had deserved.

Gumshoe spotted Edgeworth and came rushing over. "Mr. Edgeworth! What happened out there?!" He asked.

"Nothing of interest, really." Edgeworth shrugged. "Anything happen while I was gone?"

"Anything happen? Von Karma is in jail!" Gumshoe said.

"You don't say?" Edgeworth asked.

"He…He assaulted Maya Fey!" Gumshoe blurted out.

This made Edgeworth's smirk vanish instantly. "W-What?" He asked.

"He saw Maya and probably remembered how much she helped Phoenix humiliate him, so he started beating her with a plank!" Gumshoe replied. "Von Karma was arrested on the spot, but poor Maya's in a coma!"

Edgeworth swallowed. Somehow, he felt responsible for what happened. After all, he was fully aware that Von Karma had to commit another crime to get arrested, but he never realized that it would be something like this, especially to someone as innocent as Maya Fey.

"I think I'll go over to the hospital and see how she's doing." Edgeworth said shakily as he turned and left the building again, going back towards his car.

Edgeworth never would have wished a fate such as this upon Maya, and was really hoping that she could pull through.

"_Well, I guess that if she doesn't wake up, I'll have something to wish for next year…" _Edgeworth thought as he started his car.

11111111111111111111111111111111111111111

"Uh…Carl?"

"Yeah, Jamie?"

"Why do I have a feeling that we've made a horrible mistake?"

To be continued…


	4. Mr Grimm

Landis – Mr. Grimm

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**(Intro)**

Kuput Forest was always a quiet place, and a place people rarely went through. Lush, green vegetation went as far as the eye could see, and the animals that lived there only attacked when provoked.

However, to one particular Winghorde named Landis, Kuput Forest was more of a home to him. Even after joining the army of Budehuc Castle, Landis would often fly across the Grasslands to visit his little forest. After all, he had practically been living in the forest for a good number of years. Landis, in spite of his odd behavior and strange fascination with the Grim Reaper, loved the forest, as it helped him unwind and reflect on what had happened since he had visited last.

Unfortunately, reflecting was the last thing on the winged man's mind. Currently, Landis fingered an envelope in his hand, which had fancy lettering on the front.

"An invitation to a contest called 'Twisted Metal'…" Landis mused. "The Grim Reaper would LOVE a contest like this."

Ironically, the Grim Reaper himself was the one to receive the invitation, but due to his job, he was forced to have someone enter in his place. Seeing as how Landis was probably the biggest fanatic, the reaper (or Mr. Grim, as some people called him), chose him to enter the tournament.

Although it took a bit for everything to sink in for Landis, he wasn't really sure if he should do it. After all, Landis would be entering in Mr. Grim's place, and even if he won, Grim would still get the wish. Landis just couldn't see what was it in for him

However, that's when Mr. Grim decided to raise the stakes.

Landis loved telling scary stories, and his favourite person to tell them to was Elliot, a blonde boy with glasses. This was because Elliot was easily scared and Landis' stories always gave him nightmares for days to come. Landis may have loved to torment the boy, but even he wouldn't wish such a fate to befall him.

In the blink of an eye, Grim had Elliot's soul in his hand. Landis could still remember seeing Elliot crumple to the ground, lifeless. Grim made the offer again, but this time added in one twist. If Landis gave Grim the wish at the end of the tournament, he would return Elliot's soul.

The more Landis thought about it, the more he realized that he didn't have a choice. Grim didn't seem very trustworthy, but right now, he was the only way to get Elliot's soul back.

Landis nodded in thought as he turned, envelope in hand, and walked towards a motorbike, which Mr. Grim had given him to enter the contest with. Sitting in the sidecar was the motionless, soul-less body of Elliot. Stepping up to the sidecar, Landis sighed.

"I'm going to get you out of this, Elliot." Landis said as he climbed onto the bike. "I hope you don't mind tagging along, because I think it's better if I bring you when I get the wish."

Starting the motorbike, Landis turned and sped off through Kuput Forest, Elliot's body still in the sidecar.

**(Pre-Level One)**

When Landis arrived at the dome the tournament would be starting at, he noticed that several of the other competitors were steering clear of him. Maybe it was because of his unusual looks. After all, humans weren't known to have wings sprouting from their backs. Or maybe they were creeped out at the fact that there was a dead body in the sidecar of the motorbike Landis was entering. Still, Landis paid it no mind and remained focused on his goal, which was to win to contest at get Elliot's soul back.

Currently, Landis was standing in a line in the middle of a packed stadium. In the line were the sixteen contestants, their respective vehicles parked just behind them, several mechanics working on all of them.

Suddenly, a large screen hanging from the ceiling turned on, showing two faces. Landis was one of the first to notice the screen and glanced upwards. Everyone else followed suite and looked up at the two faces on the screen.

"Greetings, contestants." The male figure said. "I am Carl Roberts and this is my sister Jamie."

"Thank you for agreeing to participate in this tournament." Jamie added. "You are obviously aware of what is at stake, here."

"Currently, some of our men are fixing up the vehicles you all brought with high-powered weapons." Carl said. "Believe me. You need them to survive here."

"The aim of this contest is to be the last vehicle standing. If your vehicle explodes, you're out of the tournament, but don't worry. We have the technology to get you out of your car safely before it blows." Jamie said.

"However, you don't just have yourselves to worry about." Carl pointed out. "We have also invited three individuals to act as bosses that will fight the winner of a specific round."

"The final winner at the end will be the one that will earn the grand prize: A wish. Whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't involve us giving up our powers, will be granted."

"Good luck, everyone. May the best driver win!" The two siblings said as one.

Landis turned and walked towards his bike, which had just been finished getting worked on. Ignoring the mechanics looking at the dead body of Elliot in the sidecar nervously, Landis got on…

**(Pre-Level Three)**

Landis soared through the first two rounds of the tournament easily and was soon told to go to a parking lot to await his next battle. However, when he arrived, Landis looked around and noticed the absence of life.

"No one here." Landis noted as he looked around. "Maybe they're too afraid to face the Grim Reaper…"

Suddenly, Landis heard a strange tune being played. Looking to his right, Landis saw a white ice cream truck driving onto the scene, the music coming from the speakers on the roof.

Rather than shout out in surprise, Landis remained silent, growled and drove to the side to avoid the oncoming truck.

As soon as Landis had driven to the side, the ice cream truck did a spin before coming to a stop right beside the red car, revealing a man with red and yellow hair.

"You like to push the Grim Reaper, don't you?" Landis asked the newcomer. "You could have run me over."

"Dude, that's what I was trying to do." The man replied with a sly smirk. "The name's Sypher. I'm the boss of this zone."

"So you are my opponent, then?" Landis asked with a smirk. "Heh. This'll be easier than I thought. The Grim Reaper shall enjoy this."

"Hey, I didn't steal Duck's invitation to get mocked, pal." Sypher said as he drove ahead a bit and turned around to face Landis. "I'm going to beat you and win this thing to get that wish!"

Landis could see that Sypher was determined to win, and needed to make sure he held nothing back. While Sypher may have been determined, Landis was even more determined to win the contest. It's too bad Sypher didn't know that, yet…

**(After Battle)**

Landis had just dealt the final blow. An explosion erupted from somewhere in the engine, making the hood of Sweet Tooth, Syper's ice cream truck, fly off and land several feet away.

"N-No! This can't be!!" Sypher cried in disbelief as his truck started to break down. "How could I lose?!"

That was all Sypher could get out before Sweet Tooth exploded in a ball of fire. Landis sat back on Mr. Grimm, the motorbike he was riding, his good eye narrowed at the explosion. He knew that Sypher had probably gotten warped out of Sweet Tooth before it blew up.

"Another one escapes the wrath of the Grim Reaper." Landis said as he started his bike, turned around and drove out of the parking lot, to where the next battle would be taking place.

**(Pre-Level Five)**

Mr. Grimm drove onto a construction site after Landis had scored two more wins. After arriving at his destination, Landis looked around and saw that, much like the parking lot where he fought Sweet Tooth, the construction site was empty.

"Another empty arena." Landis noted. "Looks like the Grim Reaper is fighting another one of those 'bosses'…"

Hearing an engine revving up, Landis found himself looking upwards, towards a dirt ramp leading into the 'arena'. A large vehicle shot off the ramp and soared overtop of Mr. Grimm before landing on the ground. When Landis took a better look, it was a dump truck.

"You're the man the Grim Reaper must take out?" Landis asked, gripping the handlebars on his bike.

"Yes." The brown-haired man driving the dump truck nodded. "My name's Flint Marko, but most people know me as 'Sandman'."

"Sandman…The Reaper is familiar with that name." Landis noted. "Did you steal your invitation like the one in the ice cream truck?"

"I entered this legitimately, but I need the wish." Sandman replied, revving up his vehicle. "I have to take you down to get to the end and get that wish, and I'm going to see to it that I get it."

"The Grim Reaper needs the wish even more." Landis said as he started his bikeMore than you ever realize."

**(After Battle)**

Sandman's eyes widened as he looked around at Manslaughter, his dump truck. Parts were starting to fall off and explosions were starting to erupt all around the vehicle.

"No! NO!" Sandman cried. "PENNY!!"

With that, Manslaughter exploded, sending the sand it was carrying scattering all over the construction site.

Mr. Grimm was parked several feet away, but that didn't stop sand from striking the side of the bike. Landis sighed as, for the first time in his life, felt sorry for his opponent. It sounded like Sandman REALLY needed the wish, but Landis had just ended that chance for the poor man. Luckily, Sandman had been warped away before his vehicle went up in flames.

Landis glanced own at the sidecar, where Elliot's body was still sitting. Landis' eye narrowed as he was filled with renewed resolve. His chances at winning the contest were even better now, and that meant that Elliot had a better chance of returning to life.

Staring Mr. Grimm again, Landis turned and drove out of the construction site, leaving the smoldering wreckage of Manslaughter. He had a contest to win...

**(Pre-Level Seven)**

Landis was nervous, now. After winning two more rounds, Landis realized how incredibly close he was to actually winning. Landis drove Mr. Grimm into the large courtyard of an old castle and looked around, finding it empty.

"Once again, the Grim Reaper is alone." Landis realized as he looked around to see if he could spot any opponents, somehow knowing what was going to come next. "That probably means that-"

Landish didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because the gates on the other side of the courtyard were burst open. A huge vehicle barreled into the courtyard and came to a halt. Landis jumped in slight surprise, but relaxed when he saw the huge vehicle, identified as some sort of oil tanker, come to a stop.

"Are you the Grim Reaper's opponent?" Landis asked.

A furry, red head leaned out the driver's window. "Animal win contest!" The creature shouted determinedly. "Animal get wish and everything better!"

"Not even a human, and yet he's still capable of speech." Landis said to himself. "It looks like he wants the Reaper's prize."

Seeing no way around this, Landis revved up Mr. Grimm again and drove towards the huge oil tanker. He knew that this 'Animal' wasn't going to make things easy for him, but Landis was too far into the contest to give up, now...

**(After Battle)**

Animal didn't even get to shout in disbelief. Minion, the huge oil tanker he was driving, exploded in a huge ball of fire, sending debris and pieces of the metal monstrosity flying in all directions.

One piece of Minion flew straight towards Mr. Grimm. Because Landis had next to no armour on the bike, the piece of metal struck him head-on. The Winghorde blacked out instantly, his head resting on the handlebars of Mr. Grimm. Elliot's body bounced around in the sidecar for a bit, but was relatively undamaged.

For the first time, Landis was scared, because while he was blacked out, he heard voices in his head, reminding him of what had brought him here…

"_You can't be serious. You expect me to enter in your place and win, and yet still give you the wish."_

"_**Hey, I'm the Grim Reaper. With the way you act all of the time, I'd have thought that you'd be thrilled to do me a favour."**_

"_Well, you thought wrong. I don't see what's in it for me."_

"_**H-Hey, who's t-that guy over there?"**_

"_**So you're wondering what's in it for you, eh?"**_

**SHING!**

"_E-Elliot!!"_

"_**How about this. You give me the wish at the end and I'll return the boy's soul to him."**_

"_Leave him out of this!"_

"_**I'm afraid that it's too late for that. Heh. So what'll it be?"**_

Landis' eyes snapped open as he shot back into a sitting position, breathing heavily. After a few seconds, his eye narrowed.

"This is the only thing that'll get Elliot's soul back." Landis said. "This close, I'm not going to lose now."

With that, Landis turned around and drove off to his next battle.

**(Level Eight)**

After winning one final round, it dawned on Landis how close he was to actually winning. Driving onto the rooftop of a tall building, Landis promised himself that he wasn't going down now.

"So this is where I'm going to fight the final boss." Landis noted as he looked around. "The Grim Reaper shall soon regret doing all of this to me."

Suddenly hearing another care driving onto the scene, Landis turned his head and saw a large, black version of Sweet Tooth driving onto the roof. The driver was a VERY disturbed individual.

"So you're the last one standing, eh?" Needles Kane, the psychotic clown and Twisted Metal mascot when the contest still belonged to Calypso, laughed. "This'll be easy! Those Roberts siblings will rue the day they banished me from the tournament!"

"Banished, you say?" Landis asked. "Then what are you doing here, now? The Grim Reaper doesn't tolerate people that don't belong here."

"Isn't it obvious? I sneaked in and took the place of the final boss those new owners picked." Needles said with an insane grin. "And now, all that's left for me to do is to wipe you out."

Landis narrowed his good eye and revved up his bike again. "Hold on a little longer, Elliot. We're almost there."

**(Ending)**

Carl and Jamie Roberts stood on a large, round platform, awaiting the winner of the contest to enter the 'lair', which looked more like a junkyard with all of the broken car parts scattered around.

Suddenly, the large doors at the other side of the lair opened and in rode a car, the winning vehicle.

Jamie noticed the skull on the front of the oncoming bike and smirked. "Isn't that Mr. Grimm?" She asked her brother.

"Indeed it is." Carl nodded as the vehicle came to a stop. "And that can only mean that the winner is…"

Landis jumped off of Mr. Grimm, scooped up the body of Elliot in his arms and walked up onto the platform to join the Roberts siblings.

"Landis, a mysterious Winghorde with a fascination for the Grim Reaper." Carl greeted. "Congratulations. You've won this year's Twisted Metal contest."

"You needn't worry about the others. They're all fine." Jamie added. "Some of our best mechanics are rebuilding their vehicles so that they can get back home safely."

"You may claim your prize, Landis." Carl pointed out. "One wish, whatever your heart desires, will be granted."

Landis nodded and gave his reply. "I always loved telling kids scary stories, because I loved to give them the sorts of thoughts that gave them nightmares. It was always in a playful way, because I would never wish anything to befall any of the kids of the castle I'm from. Despite what some people think, I'm not heartless." Landis sighed. "Just because I like to scare the kids, people think that I don't care about them. I've always been looking for a way to prove to everyone that I'm not that bad of a person."

"Your tale is indeed a sad one, Landis." Jamie sighed. "So what is your wish? We have the ability to alter the minds of people."

"Yes. If you wanted everyone to show you some respect, we can do just that." Carl added.

"No. You may notice that I'm holding a dead body, here." Landis said as he looked towards the body in his arms. "He had a run-in with the Grim Reaper."

"Ah, yes. Mr. Grim himself. Carl and I are quite familiar with him." Jamie nodded in understanding.

Landis continued. "Well, the Grim Reaper gave me his invitation and said I could enter instead and win, but only if I gave him the wish at the end. When I refused, he took this boy's soul and said that if I gave him the wish, he would give this boy his soul back. I…I didn't have any choice." Seeing the colour drain from both Carl and Jamie's faces, Landis' eyebrow lifted. "What is it?"

"Landis, you made a deal with Mr. Grim?!" Jamie asked.

"Why not? He had this boy's soul!" Landis said.

"He's the Grim Reaper! He's not trustworthy in the least!" Carl pointed out. "He's likely to just keep the boy's soul!"

Landis' good eye widened. Had the Grim Reaper really played him for the fool? Before he had time to ponder, Mr. Grim appeared in front of him, in front of the two Robert's siblings.

"Well done, Landis." Mr. Grim laughed. "I'll just take my wish and be on my way."

Landis narrowed his eye in hatred as he looked at Carl and Jamie. "Offiers, I wish Elliot would get his soul back!" He shouted before Mr. Grim could take the wish.

"W-What?!" Mr. Grim asked in horror. He hadn't expected things to turn out like this.

The siblings looked at each other and nodded before turning back to the victor. "Granted." They said as one as they lifted their arms into the air. Strange, blue energy flew from the arms of both siblings before flying into Mr. Grim. A blue orb was pulled from Mr. Grim's skeletal body and went straight into Elliot's small form, still resting in Landis' arms.

"Your wish has been granted, Landis." Carl said.

"And as for YOU." Jamie said, pointing down at Mr. Grim. "Go back to where you came from, Grim. We invited you to this thing, and you do all of this instead? Begone!"

Mr. Grim narrowed his empty eye sockets as he vanished from sight, taking his bike with him.

Landis gave a rare smile when he heard Elliot breathing lightly. "Thank you, officers." He said. "And I'm sure Elliot thanks you, too."

Elliot's eyes fluttered open, and the blonde boy was surprised to see Landis staring down at him. "L-Landis?" Elliot asked as he looked around. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Landis assured. "Come on. Let's go back to Budehuc."

With that, Landis spread his dark wings and took to the sky, flying out of sight in a matter of moments. Carl and Jamie watched them fly away an smiled once he was gone.

"He's definitely not all that bad." Jamie said.

"Hopefully, everyone else at their home will realize that, now." Carl nodded.

To be continued…


	5. Grasshopper

Sakura – Grasshopper

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**(Intro)**

The sun was shining brightly down on a Japanese city. School was just finishing, and students were rushing out of the school building to get back home. Amongst the wave of students, a blonde girl with a red uniform stood on the sidewalk, her eyes on an oncoming figure.

"Come on, Sakura!" The blonde schoolgirl challenged. "I bet you can't beat me in a fight this time!"

The dark-haired schoolgirl gave her friend a glance as she walked past her on the sidewalk. "Sorry, Karin. I don't feel like a spar today." She apologized, looking a little down.

Karin's eyes widened as Sakura kept on walking. "What? Sakura, you're into fighting more than anyone I've ever known!" She said as she ran to catch up with her friend. "What's wrong?"

Sakura turned her head away to hide a few tears rolling down her face. She couldn't let Karin see her like this. Unfortunately, Karin saw it.

"Sakura? You're…You're crying…" Karin said in worry before she finally realized what was wrong. "It's…It's about Ryu, isn't it."

Sakura couldn't take it anymore and started crying. "Why did I have to tag along, Karin?! Ryu told me himself that trying to take on Bison would be dangerous!" She said. "If I just hadn't been so selfish, Ryu…Ryu would still be here…"

"Sakura, Ryu died protecting you." Karin assured. "I'm sure that he wouldn't have had it any other way."

"If only there were something I could do about all of this…" Sakura sighed.

Karin paused in thought. "Wait. There might be something you can do." She replied.

Sakura glanced at her friend. "What?"

"Remember that invitation you told me you got?" Karin asked. "The one to that 'Twisted Metal' contest?"

"Yeah. I know that the contest gives the winner a wish." Sakura nodded. "But I can't enter it. I…I Don't have a vehicle."

"Oh, yes you will." Karin said with a smile.

This caught Sakura's attention completely. "W-What?" She asked.

"Sakura, I've got a number of vehicles for you to choose from." Karin assured. "You can take whatever you want from my collection and enter it in the contest."

"You…You'd do that for me?!" Sakura asked excitedly.

"Of course, Sakura. You may be my rival, but you're still my friend." Karin nodded. "Now, what attributes would you prefer?"

"Well, anything speedy and easy to control would be fine." Sakura said.

"I think I may know just the thing." Karin said.

Sakura flung her arms around her friend. "Thank you SO much, Karin! You don't know how much this means!" She said.

"Don't worry about it." Karin assured. "Now come on. Let's show you that car."

With that the two schoolgirls were off, Sakura looking her happy self again after so long.

**(Pre-Level One)**

Needless to say, Sakura felt that the dune buggy Karin had given her was perfect for her to use in the contest. Before to long, Sakura had arrived at the dome where the tournament would be starting, where she met the rest of the contestants. Sakura became fast friends with Mona and Ally Gator, and was one of the few people to hang around Sergei because she thought he looked cute. Sakura knew that all of these people were going to be against her in the contest, but Sakura knew that they would all survive this, because the invitation said that no one would die.

Currently, Sakura was standing in a line in the middle of a packed stadium. In the line were the sixteen contestants, their respective vehicles parked just behind them, several mechanics working on all of them.

Suddenly, a large screen hanging from the ceiling turned on, showing two faces. Sakura heard the screen turn on and looked upwards, being the first one to notice it. Sakura gave Mona a tap on the shoulder to get her attention as well. Soon, everyone was looking upwards.

"Greetings, contestants." The male figure said. "I am Carl Roberts and this is my sister Jamie."

"Thank you for agreeing to participate in this tournament." Jamie added. "You are obviously aware of what is at stake, here."

"Currently, some of our men are fixing up the vehicles you all brought with high-powered weapons." Carl said. "Believe me. You need them to survive here."

"The aim of this contest is to be the last vehicle standing. If your vehicle explodes, you're out of the tournament, but don't worry. We have the technology to get you out of your car safely before it blows." Jamie said.

"However, you don't just have yourselves to worry about." Carl pointed out. "We have also invited three individuals to act as bosses that will fight the winner of a specific round."

"The final winner at the end will be the one that will earn the grand prize: A wish. Whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't involve us giving up our powers, will be granted."

"Good luck, everyone. May the best driver win!" The two siblings said as one.

Sakura turned and walked towards her car, which had just been finished getting worked on. Sakura nervously got behind the wheel of Grasshopper, the name she had given her car. There was no turning back, now…

**(Pre-Level Three)**

Sakura surprised herself when she found herself passing the first two rounds of the contest easily. She was then instructed to drive to a parking lot for her next fight, but when she got there, Sakura noticed that there was no one around.

"That's strange. There's no one here." Sakura mused as she looked around. "Does that mean that the others are coming?"

Suddenly, Sakura heard a strange tune being played. Looking to her right, Sakura saw a white ice cream truck driving onto the scene, the music coming from the speakers on the roof.

Seeing that the ice cream truck was driving right towards her, Sakura screamed as she drove out of harm's way.

As soon as Sakura had driven to the side, the ice cream truck did a spin before coming to a stop right beside the dune buggy, revealing a man with red and yellow hair.

"You maniac! What were you thinking?!" Sakura shouted at the newcomer. "You could have run me over in that thing!"

"Dude, that's what I was trying to do." The man replied with a sly smirk. "The name's Sypher. I'm the boss of this zone."

"Wait. YOU'RE my opponent?" Sakura asked with a smirk. "This'll be a snap. I can get through this easily."

"Hey, I didn't steal Duck's invitation to get mocked, pal." Sypher said as he drove ahead a bit and turned around to face Sakura. "I'm going to beat you and win this thing to get that wish!"

Sakura narrowed her eyes. The way Sypher was talking, he hadn't entered legitimately. Knowing that she could show him that nothing came from stealing someone else's invitation, Sakura drove headfirst at her opponent.

**(After Battle)**

Sakura had just dealt the final blow. An explosion erupted from somewhere in the engine, making the hood of Sweet Tooth, Syper's ice cream truck, fly off and land several feet away.

"N-No! This can't be!!" Sypher cried in disbelief as his truck started to break down. "How could I lose?!"

That was all Sypher could get out before Sweet Tooth exploded in a ball of fire. Sakura, sitting several feet back in Grasshopper, folded her arms as she watched the fireworks. She felt a little less-guilty knowing that Sypher had been warped to safety, but she was wondering if he even deserved it at all.

"Well, at least he isn't in the running for the wish, now." Sakura noted as she turned around and drove out of the parking lot to her next battle.

**(Pre-Level Five)**

Grasshopper drove onto a construction site after Sakura nailed two more wins. One quick look around the area showed Sakura that, much like the parking lot where she fought Sweet Tooth, the construction site was empty.

"This place is empty as well." Sakura noted, looking around. "I wonder if another on of those 'bosses' is hanging around somewhere…"

Hearing an engine revving up, Sakura found herself looking upwards, towards a dirt ramp leading into the 'arena'. A large vehicle shot off the ramp and soared overtop of Grasshopper before landing on the ground. When Sakura took a better look, it was a dump truck.

"So you're my opponent, are you?" Sakura asked the driver of the large vehicle.

"Yes." The brown-haired man driving the dump truck nodded. "My name's Flint Marko, but most people know me as 'Sandman'."

"Wait…Sandman?! You're…You're a crook!" Sakura accused. "Did you steal someone's invitation like that Sypher creep?!"

"I entered this legitimately, but I need the wish." Sandman replied, revving up his vehicle. "I have to take you down to get to the end and get that wish, and I'm going to see to it that I get it."

"Sorry to let you down, Mr. Marko." Sakura apologized as she narrowed her eyes. "But I need the wish as well."

**(After Battle)**

Sandman's eyes widened as he looked around at Manslaughter, his dump truck. Parts were starting to fall off and explosions were starting to erupt all around the vehicle.

"No! NO!" Sandman cried. "PENNY!!"

With that, Manslaughter exploded, sending the sand it was carrying scattering all over the construction site.

Sakura jumped in surprise as sand splattered against her windshield, but after the explosion subsided, she looked down in shame. That last outburst from Sandman told Sakura that he had entered for a good reason, but now he was unable to get the wish. Thankfully, he had been warped away from the battlefield before his car blew, meaning that he had survived. Maybe after this was over, Sakura could apologize…

Suddenly, Sakura remembered the reason she had entered in the first place. Her eyes narrowed as she looked out of the construction site. Starting her car, Sakura drove towards the exit.

Sakura left the construction site, leaving behind Manslaughter's smoldering wreckage. She had a wish to win, and she knew that Ryu would be counting on her…

**(Pre-Level Seven)**

Grasshopper drove onto the courtyard of an old castle, Sakura looking more and more nervous by the second. After winning two more battles, it finally dawned on Sakura just how much of a chance she had at actually winning Twisted Metal. When Sakura arrived in the courtyard, she saw that this arena was empty as well.

"Another empty arena." Sakura said as she looked around. "If my last two boss battles are any indication, that means that there's-"

Sakura didn't get a chance to finish her sentence, because the gates on the other side of the courtyard were burst open. A huge vehicle barreled into the courtyard and came to a halt. Sakura jumped in slight surprise, but relaxed when he saw the huge vehicle, identified as some sort of oil tanker, come to a stop.

"Are you my opponent?" Sakura asked the owner of the giant vehicle.

A furry, red head leaned out the driver's window. "Animal win contest!" The creature shouted determinedly. "Animal get wish and everything better!"

Sakura stared in surprise at the strange creature. "What…What are you?" She asked aloud.

Somehow getting the feeling that she wasn't going to be answered, Sakura stepped on the gas to challenge this 'Animal' guy. She had come too far in the competition to lose to a crazy creature in an oil tanker…

**(After Battle)**

Animal didn't even get to shout in disbelief. Minion, the huge oil tanker he was driving, exploded in a huge ball of fire, sending debris and pieces of the metal monstrosity flying in all directions.

One piece of Minion flew straight towards Grasshopper. Sakura couldn't move out of the way in time and the piece of metal slammed into the side of her car, shaking her around and making her hit her head, causing her to black out, her head resting on the steering wheel.

Sakura, while unconscious, was forced to relive something she knew she would never forget, and would give her nightmares for ages to come…

"_**Stay down this time, Bison."**_

"_Ryu, you were awesome! Did you see the look on his face when you gave him that-"_

"_**Sakura, stay back! He's getting up!"**_

"_Huh?!"_

"_**Heh. Ryu, you never cease to amaze. Unfortunately, this is where you both die!"**_

"_**What are you talking about, Bison!"**_

"_**The self-destruct countdown started as soon as we started our fight! You only have a matter of seconds to live, now!"**_

"_EEK!! Ryu, the ground is shaking!"_

"_**SAKURA!!"**_

**BOOM!**

Sakura's eyes snapped open as she shot back into a sitting position, breathing heavily and tears rolling down her face. She could still remember waking up in the middle of the wrecked base, with Ryu dead and laying on top of her, having shielded her from the blast.

"That nightmare's been haunting me ever since it happened." Sakura sighed. "But I've come real far in this. This is my big chance to make it up to Ryu…"

With that, Sakura turned around and drove off to her next battle.

**(Level Eight)**

Sakura won one more fight before getting told to drive onto the rooftop of a large building. Sakura did as she was told, somehow feeling that this was where her final battle was going to take place.

"Man. This feels so much like a video game…" Sakura noted as she looked around. "I mean, I'm going to be fighting the 'final boss' here and everything."

Suddenly hearing another care driving onto the scene, Sakura turned her head and saw a large, black version of Sweet Tooth driving onto the roof. The driver was a VERY disturbed individual.

"So you're the last one standing, eh?" Needles Kane, the psychotic clown and Twisted Metal mascot when the contest still belonged to Calypso, laughed. "This'll be easy! Those Roberts siblings will rue the day they banished me from the tournament!"

"You got banished?" Sakura asked, an eyebrow raised. "If you were banished, then what are you still doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? I sneaked in and took the place of the final boss those new owners picked." Needles said with an insane grin. "And now, all that's left for me to do is to wipe you out."

"This is it. The final battle." Sakura said. "Ryu, once I win this, I'm going to make you proud."

**(Ending)**

Carl and Jamie Roberts stood on a large, round platform, awaiting the winner of the contest to enter the 'lair', which looked more like a junkyard with all of the broken car parts scattered around.

Suddenly, the large doors at the other side of the lair opened and in rode a car, the winning vehicle.

Jamie noticed the skull on the front of the oncoming dune buggy and smirked. "Isn't that Grasshopper?" She asked her brother.

"Indeed it is." Carl nodded as the vehicle came to a stop. "And that can only mean that the winner is…"

Sakura stepped out of Grasshopper's driver's seat, gave a satisfied and excited smile and walked up onto the platform to join the Roberts siblings.

"Sakura Kusanago, a schoolgirl obsessed with fighting." Carl greeted. "Congratulations. You've won this year's Twisted Metal contest."

"You needn't worry about the others. They're all fine." Jamie added. "Some of our best mechanics are rebuilding their vehicles so that they can get back home safely."

"You may claim your prize, Sakura." Carl pointed out. "One wish, whatever your heart desires, will be granted."

Sakura took a deep breath to relax herself. "Ever since I took up fighting, I've looked up to a master street fighter named Ryu. He could beat almost anyone without breaking a sweat. His fighting style was enough to make absolutely anyone jealous." She explained. "However, I tagged along on one of his missions to take out an evil dictator named Bison. When all was said and done, Bison destroyed his own base and Ryu died protecting me from the explosion."

"We know how you feel, Sakura. We've lost many people we looked up to over the years." Jamie sighed. "So what is your wish? We have the ability to bring deceased people back, you know."

"Yes. Did you want us to bring Ryu back to life?" Carl added.

"No. I may have cared for Ryu, but I don't want to take away his immortal life now." Sakura replied, shaking her head. "You see, Ryu never took any students during his life."

"We've heard of that. Many people have wanted to become Ryu's pupil, only to be rejected." Jamie nodded in understanding.

Sakura continued. "Well, now that Ryu's dead, no one can learn the amazing fighting style he had perfected in his lifetime, and I just don't think that's right. If I could carry on Ryu's legacy and pass it on to people, I would be absolutely honored." She took a deep breath and looked towards the founders. "Officers, I wish that I would be given Ryu's knowledge and fighting ability so that I can teach it to worthy people."

The siblings looked at each other and nodded before turning back to the victor. "Granted." They said as one as they lifted their arms into the air. Strange, blue energy flew from the arms of both siblings before flying into Sakura. After a couple of seconds, the light subsided. In some strange way, Sakura looked a little more mature than she did before making the wish.

"Your wish has been granted, Sakura." Carl said. "You now have the fighting knowledge and abilities as your late idol."

"I…I feel so powerful!" Sakura said in joy. "Thank you so much!"

"We trust that you'll use this as you say you would and train some worthy students." Jamie added.

"Oh, don't worry!" Sakura assured. "I'm going to train students in Ryu's martial art as long as I possibly can."

"We believe you, Sakura." Carl said with a smile.

"I'd better get going. I can't wait to start!" Sakura said.

With that, Sakura bid farewell to the owners of the tournament and rushed back to Grasshopper. Getting in, Sakura drove off, leaving a long cloud of dust in her wake.

"You think Ryu would be proud of Sakura if he knew she was teaching students?" Jamie asked.

"I know it." Carl nodded. "Judging by how he died protecting her, Ryu harbored some feelings for Sakura as well."

To be continued…


	6. Outlaw

Sam – Outlaw

11111111111111111111111111111111111111111

**(Intro)**

Normally, the office of Sam & Max was a noise-filled place. From the wonderful sound of a bowling ball dropping from the office window and landing on the head of an unsuspecting passerby, to the sounds of the dog and rabbit duo playing darts with cleavers, tomahawks and butcher knives, the sounds of the office were always enough to lift the duo's spirits on any down day.

Unfortunately, the office had lately become quiet. Extremely quiet. Sam, the humanoid, dog-like detective, reclined in his chair and wished that some noise would happen to liven things up. The biggest downside was that he knew that it would never happen again, because one-half of the detective duo wasn't around anymore.

Sam gave half of a glance towards a stack of letters on the desk. Ever since Max had 'left', Sam had been getting many letters with the intent on lifting his spirits. Bosco, Sybil, the Soda Poppers, Agent Superball, they had all sent him letters over the past few weeks. Even Jimmy Two-Teeth, whom had been known to be at ends with Sam & Max, had given Sam a number of comforting words.

"It's just not the same around here without Max." Sam sighed as he continued to look out the window. "And I just can't bring myself to hold auditions for a replacement."

In all honesty, Sam thought that most of the people he knew would do good at helping him solve cases. Sybil was the most persistent one for begging Sam to let her help. Maybe it was because she felt at fault for what happened to Max. However, something was holding Sam back from trying to get a new partner. He just couldn't quite grasp the concept that Max wasn't there anymore.

"Hey…Uh…Dog-face."

Sam gave another glance towards the stack of letters and saw Jimmy Two-Teeth, a rat with the personality of a mobster, holding an opened letter.

"What is it, Jimmy?" Sam asked. "How many times have I told you that you can't open my mail."

"Well, I saw this strange letter here and figured that it was too important for you to ignore." Jimmy replied before pointing to several stacks of unopened letters. "Face it, doggie. You haven't been opening any mail lately."

"Well, what makes this one so interesting?" Sam asked.

"Pal, this is an invitation to Twisted Metal!" Jimmy pointed out. "I've been watching these since the start!"

"Well, what is it, then?" Sam asked.

"It's the biggest tournament around, and the stakes are even bigger!" Jimmy replied. "The winner gets a wish! Whatever their heart desires, it's granted!"

This caught Sam's attention. "Whatever my heart desires?" He asked.

"Come on, pal! Join this thing!" Jimmy said. "You have the chance to make everything right again!"

Sam thought deeply about the contest, wondering if he should enter. It didn't take long for the brown dog to make his decision.

"I'll be back in a bit, Jimmy." Sam said as he stood up. "I've got a contest to win."

Jimmy cheered as Sam walked out the door. "Got get'em, dog-boy! Make sure you do this! It's just not the same when you're not you!"

**(Pre-Level One)**

It didn't take Sam long to find his vehicle to use in the contest, as he and Max always had their trusty desoto, their police cruiser. Upon reaching the stadium, Sam met the competition. Sam looked over each of the contestants to see which ones to look out for and which ones to befriend. Sam found a lot of competition with people like Edgeworth and Mike Dawson, but made sure not to overlook the destructive power that Sergei wielded in that crane of his.

Currently, Sam was standing in a line in the middle of a packed stadium. In the line were the sixteen contestants, their respective vehicles parked just behind them, several mechanics working on all of them.

Suddenly, a large screen hanging from the ceiling turned on, showing two faces. Sam suddenly noticed several of the contestants looking up, so he looked up himself and saw the screen high above from the ceiling. He raised an eyebrow at the unusual figures, but waited to see what they had to say.

"Greetings, contestants." The male figure said. "I am Carl Roberts and this is my sister Jamie."

"Thank you for agreeing to participate in this tournament." Jamie added. "You are obviously aware of what is at stake, here."

"Currently, some of our men are fixing up the vehicles you all brought with high-powered weapons." Carl said. "Believe me. You need them to survive here."

"The aim of this contest is to be the last vehicle standing. If your vehicle explodes, you're out of the tournament, but don't worry. We have the technology to get you out of your car safely before it blows." Jamie said.

"However, you don't just have yourselves to worry about." Carl pointed out. "We have also invited three individuals to act as bosses that will fight the winner of a specific round."

"The final winner at the end will be the one that will earn the grand prize: A wish. Whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't involve us giving up our powers, will be granted."

"Good luck, everyone. May the best driver win!" The two siblings said as one.

Sam turned and walked towards his car, which had just been finished getting worked on. Jumping over the driver's door of Outlaw, the nickname he had given his car, Sam started the engine and took a deep breath…

**(Pre-Level Three)**

After managing to score wins in the first two rounds of the tournament, Sam was told to go to a parking lot to await his next battle. Sam did as he was told, but when he arrived at the mentioned parking lot, it was completely empty.

"Well, THIS is unusual." Sam noted as he looked around the parking lot. "There doesn't seem to be anyone here…"

Suddenly, Sam heard a strange tune being played. Looking to his right, Sam saw a white ice cream truck driving onto the scene, the music coming from the speakers on the roof.

"Sweet suffering sliding salamanders on a slick sousaphone!" Sam shouted as he drove to the side to avoid getting hit.

As soon as Sam had driven to the side, the ice cream truck did a spin before coming to a stop right beside the police cruiser, revealing a man with red and yellow hair.

"You are a skilled driver, but I question your sanity at the moment, citizen." Sam pointed out simply. "You very well could have run me over with that truck."

"Dude, that's what I was trying to do." The man replied with a sly smirk. "The name's Sypher. I'm the boss of this zone."

"Ah. You're my opponent?" Sam asked. "Nothing personal, but something tells me a man dressed like a clown won't be much of a challenge."

"Hey, I didn't steal Duck's invitation to get mocked, pal." Sypher said as he drove ahead a bit and turned around to face Sam. "I'm going to beat you and win this thing to get that wish!"

Sam lifted an eyebrow after Sypher had made his confession. This guy had entered with someone else's invitation, and Sam was against that, seeing as it was an extremely-underhanded trick. Maybe a little 'reeducation' would help him…

**(After Battle)**

Sam had just dealt the final blow. An explosion erupted from somewhere in the engine, making the hood of Sweet Tooth, Syper's ice cream truck, fly off and land several feet away.

"N-No! This can't be!!" Sypher cried in disbelief as his truck started to break down. "How could I lose?!"

That was all Sypher could get out before Sweet Tooth exploded in a ball of fire. Sam watched the explosion from afar, not making a move to help the power-draining supervillain. Now that he had been defeated, Sypher was out of the running for the prize at the end, which to Sam, was a good thing, because he didn't think Sypher had deserved it in the first place.

"Scratch one spandex-clad supervillain with a stupid hairstyle." Sam said as he turned around and drove out of the parking lot to fight his next battle.

**(Pre-Level Five)**

After scoring two more wins, Sam drove Outlaw onto a construction site, which was where he would have his next battle. One look around the place showed Sam that the construction site was empty, much like the parking lot from when he fought Sypher.

"Another empty battlefield. That can only mean one thing." Sam noted. "I'm going to fight another one of those boss characters, aren't I?"

Hearing an engine revving up, Sam found himself looking upwards, towards a dirt ramp leading into the 'arena'. A large vehicle shot off the ramp and soared overtop of Outlaw before landing on the ground. When Sam took a better look, it was a dump truck.

"Interesting choice of vehicle, buddy." Sam said. "You're my opponent, aren't you?"

"Yes." The brown-haired man driving the dump truck nodded. "My name's Flint Marko, but most people know me as 'Sandman'."

"That name sounds familiar…Yes…You've got a criminal record back at the office!" Sam pondered. "Did you steal your invitation like that Sypher fellow?"

"I entered this legitimately, but I need the wish." Sandman replied, revving up his vehicle. "I have to take you down to get to the end and get that wish, and I'm going to see to it that I get it."

"I like your enthusiasm, Mr. Marko." Sam replied as he started Outlaw again. "But I need that wish more than you might think, you know."

**(After Battle)**

Sandman's eyes widened as he looked around at Manslaughter, his dump truck. Parts were starting to fall off and explosions were starting to erupt all around the vehicle.

"No! NO!" Sandman cried. "PENNY!!"

With that, Manslaughter exploded, sending the sand it was carrying scattering all over the construction site.

Seeing a wave of sand coming at him, Sam ducked to prevent himself from getting pelted. Once everything subsided, Sam sat up straight again and looked around, feeling a little guilty. From the sounds of things, Sandman needed the wish just as much as Sam did, but now that he was defeated, he was unable to get it at the end. Sam sighed, feeling a little down about doing all of that to the poor man, even if he WAS a criminal.

Sam suddenly realized that he was getting even closer to the prize now. His eyes narrowed in determination, Sam looked towards the exit of the construction site and turned Outlaw around.

Leaving behind the burning wreckage of Manslaughter, Sam left the construction site. He was now looking forward to his next battle, because he determination had now increased tenfold.

**(Pre-Level Seven)**

Sam was starting to sweat in nervousness after winning two more rounds. Never had he been this close to a prize this big, but he was too far into the competition to lose now. Outlaw drove onto the courtyard of an old castle, but like the last two boss fights, the arena was devoid of life.

"This place is empty as well." Sam noted, looking around the courtyard. "The way things are looking, another boss is going to-"

Sam didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because the gates on the other side of the courtyard were burst open. A huge vehicle barreled into the courtyard and came to a halt. Sam jumped in slight surprise, but relaxed when he saw the huge vehicle, identified as some sort of oil tanker, come to a stop.

"You're the boss of this zone, aren't you?" Sam asked the driver of the huge vehicle.

A furry, red head leaned out the driver's window. "Animal win contest!" The creature shouted determinedly. "Animal get wish and everything better!"

Sam lifted an eyebrow, but remained silent, deciding that he had seen stranger things.

From the looks of things, this 'Animal' seemed pretty determined. Sam made a mental note to keep his distance. After all, he was going up against an oil tanker. If that thing blew up with him close by…

**(After Battle)**

Animal didn't even get to shout in disbelief. Minion, the huge oil tanker he was driving, exploded in a huge ball of fire, sending debris and pieces of the metal monstrosity flying in all directions.

One piece of Minion flew straight towards Outlaw. Sam tried to move out of the way, but couldn't do it in time and received a blow to the side of his car. The resulting backlash bounced Sam around in his car for a bit before slamming his head against the dash, instantly knocking him out, his head resting on the steering wheel.

While unconscious, Sam was unable to keep himself from remembering a memory had was having a really hard time forgetting.

"_Max, what's that scum Chuckles doing over there?"_

"_**Hey, Sam? Isn't that Sybil he's walking towards?"**_

"_That rat isn't thinking of-"_

"_**Too late! He already did it!"**_

"_**Don't move, Freelance Police! Make one wrong move and your lady friend gets it!"**_

"_Chuckles, let Sybil go. You don't want to do this."_

"_**To get back at you guys for ruining those plans? Of course I want to do this!"**_

"_**Let her go, dirtbag!"**_

"_Max, wait! Don't attack!"_

**BANG!**

Sam's eyes snapped open as he shot upright, back into a sitting position. Taking the fedora off his head, Sam wiped his forehead and he tried to push that memory out of his head. The attack had been a success and Sam managed to get Sybil away from Chuckles, but the thug had already fired the gun. And it wasn't just Sam trying to get rid of that memory. Sybil wasn't faring much better due to her being there when it happened.

"Why did I have to just stand there as Max pulled off that stupid stunt?" Sam asked himself with a sigh. "Well, if I win this, I can make it all better…"

With that, Sam turned around and drove off to his next battle.

**(Level Eight)**

Sam gulped nervously as he drove onto an empty rooftop. He had already won one more fight and was currently waiting to start his final battle. He knew how close he was to actually winning the contest, so he wanted to make sure that he didn't screw things up this late in the tournament.

"If this final boss is anything like the others, I shouldn't have much of a problem." Sam told himself. "Who knows? Maybe this fellow will be easier…"

Suddenly hearing another care driving onto the scene, Sam turned his head and saw a large, black version of Sweet Tooth driving onto the roof. The driver was a VERY disturbed individual.

"So you're the last one standing, eh?" Needles Kane, the psychotic clown and Twisted Metal mascot when the contest still belonged to Calypso, laughed. "This'll be easy! Those Roberts siblings will rue the day they banished me from the tournament!"

"I can see why you got banned, pal." Sam replied. "So what brings you back to the nutfarm if you got banned from it in the first place?"

"Isn't it obvious? I sneaked in and took the place of the final boss those new owners picked." Needles said with an insane grin. "And now, all that's left for me to do is to wipe you out."

"One more fight and I'll have this won." Sam told himself. "And once I win, I'll get that wish…"

**(Ending)**

Carl and Jamie Roberts stood on a large, round platform, awaiting the winner of the contest to enter the 'lair', which looked more like a junkyard with all of the broken car parts scattered around.

Suddenly, the large doors at the other side of the lair opened and in rode a car, the winning vehicle.

Jamie noticed the black and white paintjob of the oncoming police cruiser and smirked. "Isn't that Outlaw?" She asked her brother.

"Indeed it is." Carl nodded as the vehicle came to a stop. "And that can only mean that the winner is…"

Leaping over the driver's side door and shoving his hands into his pockets, Sam walked up onto the platform to join the Roberts siblings.

"Sam, a freelance policeman that knows how to solve almost anything." Carl greeted. "Congratulations. You've won this year's Twisted Metal contest."

"You needn't worry about the others. They're all fine." Jamie added. "Some of our best mechanics are rebuilding their vehicles so that they can get back home safely."

"You may claim your prize, Sam." Carl pointed out. "One wish, whatever your heart desires, will be granted."

Sam gave a nod before starting his speech. "For as long as I can remember, I've been busting up crooks with my best friend and partner, Max. We always took pride and joy in our jobs because we loved what we did." Sam wiped a tear from his eye at the memory. "Heck, some rival detectives considered our methods of solving cases completely insane, but they always agreed that the two of us made the perfect team. After all, we have the highest arrest record in our area. Unfortunately, due to a run-in with an old foe, Max was shot trying to save a friend of ours."

"We feel your pain, Sam. Carl and I are both officers and we've both lost partners over the years." Jamie sighed. "So what is your wish? We have the ability to bring deceased people back, you know."

"Yes. Did you want us to bring Max back to life?" Carl added.

"Is it really possible for you to do that?" Sam asked. "Can you really bring someone back to life?"

"Indeed we can." Jamie nodded. "We wished for these powers when we won Twisted Metal from the corrupt owner that used to run it."

Sam took a deep breath. "Max may have done a very stupid move, but it was still the bravest thing I had ever seen him do. Everyone back home, even old Jimmy Two-Teeth, misses the poor guy. If anyone deserves a second chance for their actions, it's Max." Sam nodded once in thought as he looked at the founders. "Officers, I don't care how you do it, but I wish I could have my little buddy back."

The siblings looked at each other and nodded before turning back to the victor. "Granted." They said as one as they lifted their arms into the air. Strange, blue energy flew from the arms of both siblings before flying into the air, igniting in an orb of light. After a couple of seconds, the light subsided. The motionless body of a small, white, rabbit-like creature floated gently to the ground, right in front of Sam's feet.

Sam recognized the figure instantly and got down on his knees beside him. "…M-Max?" He asked.

The rabbit's eyes slowly fluttered open. "Sam?" He asked. "Man. I-I've got a real headache. What happened?"

Sam threw his arms around his friend, then pulled away a couple of seconds later. "Nothing of importance, really." He said. "Come on. Let's go back to the office. I hear Brady Culture's on the loose again."

Max jumped to his feet eagerly. "Again? Oh, boy! I've been wanting to test out my new banana-fueled rocket launcher for weeks!"

"You crack me up, little buddy." Sam smiled. It felt so good to say that again.

Bidding farewell to the two owners of Twisted Metal, Sam led Max back to Outlaw. The two reunited friends jumped into the car and drove away, leaving the lair in a cloud of dust.

"Those two really ARE the perfect team." Jamie noted. "I can see why Sam wanted Max back."

"You said it, Jamie." Carl nodded with a smirk. "And now that they're both back together, those crooks are going to be in for a real surprise."

To be continued…


	7. Mr Slam

Sergei – Mr. Slam

11111111111111111111111111111111111111111

**(Intro)**

The huge rabbit lumbered down a hallway in a stadium. This stadium, which was built from the ground up in a matter of days, was the main source of entertainment for beings called the Rabbids. This race of furry creatures, while not the brightest bulbs in the box, were known to be extremely dangerous. They took control almost instantly and captured as many of the land's inhabitants as they could, sending them into mindless mini-games solely for entertainment.

However, things were oddly quiet in the stadium. The Rabbids favourite source of entertainment was Rayman, whom they had captured easily, but soon became adoring fans of him. However, after her won several rounds of mini-games, Rayman managed to escape the Rabbids.

The huge rabbit, named Sergei, was especially let down. After all, he was the rabbit that saw Rayman the most due to the fact that he guarded the star's door. Sergei never would have admitted it, but he had actually started to consider Rayman a friend when he escaped.

Sergei glanced to his right and saw a Rabbid screaming maniacally at a Rubix Cube in his hands. The Rabbid then hurled the toy onto the ground and stormed off. Sergei picked up the Rubix Cube and, in seconds, completed the puzzle. Sergei placed the completed puzzle on a nearby table and continued on his way.

Sergei had been known to be extremely intelligent for a Rabbid, and because of that, he was considered an outcast. In fact, because he was so different, the other Rabbids assigned him his guard duty to keep him occupied so they wouldn't have to deal with him.

Stepping outside, Sergei looked around and spotted a poorly-crafted mailbox nailed to a tree stump. Because he was one of the only Rabbids able to read, Sergei was often the one sent to fetch the mail. Walking over to it, Sergei opened the mailbox and pulled out a few letters. Starting his trek back to the stadium, Sergei casually flipped through the letters to see whom they were going to. Sergei saw one addressed to the Rabbid scientist (The one that usually ended up getting pounded in those stupid mini-games. The soccer mini-game REALLY made the scientist hate Rayman.) but knew that it was probably just a bill.

Sergei's red eyes widened slightly when he noticed a letter addressed to him. His name was written in fancy lettering, which told him that it was something important. Stepping back inside, Sergei quickly deposited the other letters onto a table and retreated back down the hallway with the fancy letter in his hand.

Eventually, Sergei came upon the room Rayman used to use. Knowing that no one would think of disturbing him in there, Sergei entered the room before opening the letter in his hands. Sergei took the letter from the envelope and started reading it.

Sergei's eyes widened when he saw that the letter was some kind of invitation. Reading the letter more thoroughly, Sergei saw that the contest was something called 'Twisted Metal', a game of vehicular destruction. What caught the large rabbit's attention was the phrase saying that the winner would get a wish granted, no matter what it was.

Gears turned inside the huge rabbit's head for a couple of seconds before making his decision. Leaving Rayman's room, Sergei looked back and forth to make sure no one was coming and started making his way back to the front door.

By the time one of the other Rabbids noticed that he was gone, Sergei would already be on the road with his vehicle.

**(Pre-Level One)**

Thankfully, Sergei didn't have to look very hard for a vehicle, as the Rabbids still had their machinery laying around from when they first built the stadium. Grabbing the toughest-looking vehicle he saw, a crane, Sergei was at the Twisted Metal dome in no time, where he met with the other contestants. He got along most with Tiny, because his childish personality reminded him of Rayman a bit. Sakura even helped Sergei learn a few words of English so he could communicate easier.

Currently, Sergei was standing in a line in the middle of a packed stadium. In the line were the sixteen contestants, their respective vehicles parked just behind them, several mechanics working on all of them.

Suddenly, a large screen hanging from the ceiling turned on, showing two faces. Sergei saw Sakura look up, so he decided to see what she was looking at and saw the monitor. Sergei, knowing that these two were the owners, waited patiently to see what they had to say.

"Greetings, contestants." The male figure said. "I am Carl Roberts and this is my sister Jamie."

"Thank you for agreeing to participate in this tournament." Jamie added. "You are obviously aware of what is at stake, here."

"Currently, some of our men are fixing up the vehicles you all brought with high-powered weapons." Carl said. "Believe me. You need them to survive here."

"The aim of this contest is to be the last vehicle standing. If your vehicle explodes, you're out of the tournament, but don't worry. We have the technology to get you out of your car safely before it blows." Jamie said.

"However, you don't just have yourselves to worry about." Carl pointed out. "We have also invited three individuals to act as bosses that will fight the winner of a specific round."

"The final winner at the end will be the one that will earn the grand prize: A wish. Whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't involve us giving up our powers, will be granted."

"Good luck, everyone. May the best driver win!" The two siblings said as one.

Sergei turned and walked towards his crane (which he had dubbed 'Mr. Slam'), which had just been finished getting worked on. It took a bit of effort, but Sergei managed to squeeze his huge frame into the driver's seat of the crane. Sergei silently grabbed the controls…

**(Pre-Level Three)**

Many of the contestants were surprised at the sheer power behind the wrecking ball on Sergei's crane, as the large rabbit had managed to score two wins in the first rounds of the contest. He was told to go to a parking lot to await his next battle, but when he arrived, Sergei found it empty.

"…Strange…" Sergei said slowly, having not quite gotten used to the English language yet. "Lot…Empty…Where…Opponent?"

Suddenly, Sergei heard a strange tune being played. Looking to his right, Sergei saw a white ice cream truck driving onto the scene, the music coming from the speakers on the roof.

Seeing that the ice cream truck was driving directly towards him, Sergei quickly threw his vehicle into gear and drove out of the way.

As soon as Sergei had driven to the side, the ice cream truck did a spin before coming to a stop right beside the crane, revealing a man with red and yellow hair.

"You…Bad…Driver..." Sergei managed to say. "Almost…Cause…Accident."

"Dude, that's what I was trying to do." The man replied with a sly smirk. "The name's Sypher. I'm the boss of this zone."

"You…Boss?" Sergei asked. "That…Mean…I…Win…Easy."

"Hey, I didn't steal Duck's invitation to get mocked, pal." Sypher said as he drove ahead a bit and turned around to face Sergei. "I'm going to beat you and win this thing to get that wish!"

Sergei's red eyes glowed slightly. This man had just announced that he entered with someone else's invitation, which was a big strike against him in Sergei's book. Sergei made a note to total his truck as he started his crane again.

**(After Battle)**

Sergei had just dealt the final blow. An explosion erupted from somewhere in the engine, making the hood of Sweet Tooth, Syper's ice cream truck, fly off and land several feet away.

"N-No! This can't be!!" Sypher cried in disbelief as his truck started to break down. "How could I lose?!"

That was all Sypher could get out before Sweet Tooth exploded in a ball of fire. Sergei sat aside in Mr. Slam, enjoying the carnage. Now Sergei was starting to feel how all of the Rabbids felt when they cause random acts of chaos and destruction. His job done, Sergei waited for the flames on Sweet Tooth to die out a bit before starting his crane again.

"Him…Fall…Down…Go…Boom." Sergei chuckled as he turned Mr. Slam around and drove out of the parking lot to go to his next fight.

**(Pre-Level Five)**

Easily scoring two more wins, Sergei drove Mr. Slam onto a construction site to await his next battle. When he arrived, the large rabbit looked around and saw that, much like the parking lot where he fought Sypher, the construction site was empty.

"Empty…Again…No…One…Here." Sergei said as he looked around. "Another…Boss…Fight…Maybe?"

Hearing an engine revving up, Sergei found himself looking upwards, towards a dirt ramp leading into the 'arena'. A large vehicle shot off the ramp and soared overtop of Mr. Slam before landing on the ground. When Sergei took a better look, it was a dump truck.

"Dump…Truck…Vehicle…For…You?" Sergei asked. "You…Opponent…I…Fight…Here?"

"Yes." The brown-haired man driving the dump truck nodded. "My name's Flint Marko, but most people know me as 'Sandman'."

"I…No…Know…You…" Sergei replied. "But…You…Seem…Like…Sypher…You…Steal…Invitation?"

"I entered this legitimately, but I need the wish." Sandman replied, revving up his vehicle. "I have to take you down to get to the end and get that wish, and I'm going to see to it that I get it."

"I…Need…Wish…More." Sergei replied. "I…Win…Now…And…Keep…Going…On."

**(After Battle)**

Sandman's eyes widened as he looked around at Manslaughter, his dump truck. Parts were starting to fall off and explosions were starting to erupt all around the vehicle.

"No! NO!" Sandman cried. "PENNY!!"

With that, Manslaughter exploded, sending the sand it was carrying scattering all over the construction site.

Unfortunately for Sergei, Mr. Slam didn't have any windows, and instead had nothing but steels bars blocking Sergei from the wave of sand that splattered against his face. Shaking himself off to clean the sand off of him, Sergei looked at the smoldering wreckage of the dump truck and his red eyes dimmed a bit. Sandman seemed like an okay guy, and Sergei had just ruined his chance at the wish at the end.

However, Sergei told himself that now that he had won his fight, he was even closer to the big prize at the end of the contest. Looking towards the entrance of the construction site, Sergei turned Mr. Slam around.

Without a word, Sergei drove his crane out of the construction site to go off to fight his next battle, leaving the burning wreck that used to be Manslaughter behind.

**(Pre-Level Seven)**

It was beginning to dawn of Sergei how close he was getting to winning everything, especially after he managed to score two more wins. This time, Sergei drove onto the courtyard of an old castle. Once again, the place was deserted.

"Another…Empty…Ring." Sergei noted. "Must…Be…Boss…Battle…Agai-"

Sergei didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because the gates on the other side of the courtyard were burst open. A huge vehicle barreled into the courtyard and came to a halt. Sergei jumped in slight surprise, but relaxed when he saw the huge vehicle, identified as some sort of oil tanker, come to a stop.

"You…Boss…Aren't…You?" Sergei asked.

A furry, red head leaned out the driver's window. "Animal win contest!" The creature shouted determinedly. "Animal get wish and everything better!"

To any other person, Animal would have been an unusual sight, but to Sergei, it seemed normal. Sergei silently gripped the controls of his crane and prepared for battle.

Sergei could almost taste victory, now. The only thing he had to remember here was to be careful, as this WAS a highly-explosive oil tanker he was going against. Sergei told himself to steer clear if it actually blew up.

**(After Battle)**

Animal didn't even get to shout in disbelief. Minion, the huge oil tanker he was driving, exploded in a huge ball of fire, sending debris and pieces of the metal monstrosity flying in all directions.

One piece of Minion flew straight towards Mr. Slam. The piece of scrap flew straight into the Mr. Slam, but thankfully for the steel cage protecting him, Sergei didn't get crushed. However, he DID get rattled around in his seat before hitting his head on one of the bars around him. Blacking out, Sergei collapsed onto the controls of his crane.

He may have been unconscious, but Sergei still relived a memory. However, unlike several of the other contestants, this one wasn't a nightmare.

"_**Heya, Sergei. Still guarding my door, I see."**_

"…_Grahh…"_

"_**Look, I know we kinda go off on the wrong foot, but can I say something?"**_

"_Grah."_

"_**Thanks. Look, I've seen how the other Rabbids don't treat you that well. Have you ever thought about defecting from these guys?"**_

"…_Gruh?"_

"_**Sergei, you're at least five times stronger than any of the other Rabbids. Hasn't it ever occurred to you that you have the ability to leave them whenever you want?"**_

"………"

"_**Just think about it, okay? You seem like a good guy. Don't let those psychos control you."**_

Sergei opened his eyes and sat up. He still remembered that day. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Rayman was right. Sergei was a lot stronger than any of the other Rabbids, so there shouldn't have been any good reason for him to stick with the Rabbids as long as he had. However, he was considering helping Rayman escape when the limbless hero made the escape on his own. Unfortunately, Sergei had no idea where he went, so he couldn't go after him.

"I…Win…Contest…Find…Rayman." Sergei said determindly. "Be…With…Friend…Not…With…Rabidds…"

With that, Sergei turned around and drove off to his next battle.

**(Level Eight)**

In all honesty, Sergei couldn't believe that he had managed to last as long as he had. Winning one more battle, Sergei drove onto the roof of a tall building to await the final battle. For the first time ever, Sergei was nervous, and gripped the controls of his crane tightly so he wouldn't lost his grip on them. Once again, the battlefield was empty when Sergei drove onto the scene.

"Final…Battle…Maybe…It…Be…Easy…Like…Others." Sergei shrugged slowly. "Maybe…I…Win…Contest…No…Problem."

Suddenly hearing another care driving onto the scene, Sergei turned his head and saw a large, black version of Sweet Tooth driving onto the roof. The driver was a VERY disturbed individual.

"So you're the last one standing, eh?" Needles Kane, the psychotic clown and Twisted Metal mascot when the contest still belonged to Calypso, laughed. "This'll be easy! Those Roberts siblings will rue the day they banished me from the tournament!"

"You…No…Allowed…In?" Sergei asked. "Then…What…Doing…Back?"

"Isn't it obvious? I sneaked in and took the place of the final boss those new owners picked." Needles said with an insane grin. "And now, all that's left for me to do is to wipe you out."

Sergei narrowed his red eyes. This was it. The final battle. If Sergei could win this, he would get the coveted wish at the end. He had come far too close to victory to lose now.

**(Ending)**

Carl and Jamie Roberts stood on a large, round platform, awaiting the winner of the contest to enter the 'lair', which looked more like a junkyard with all of the broken car parts scattered around.

Suddenly, the large doors at the other side of the lair opened and in rode a car, the winning vehicle.

Jamie noticed the wrecking ball swinging in front of the crane and smirked. "Isn't that Mr. Slam?" She asked her brother.

"Indeed it is." Carl nodded as the vehicle came to a stop. "And that can only mean that the winner is…"

After stopping Mr. Slam, Sergei stepped out of the driver's box and lumbered up onto the platform to join the Roberts siblings.

"Sergei, the strongest rabbit around and muscle for a species called the 'Rabbids'." Carl greeted. "Congratulations. You've won this year's Twisted Metal contest."

"You needn't worry about the others. They're all fine." Jamie added. "Some of our best mechanics are rebuilding their vehicles so that they can get back home safely."

"You may claim your prize, Sergei." Carl pointed out. "One wish, whatever your heart desires, will be granted."

Sergei nodded. It would take a fair bit of effort, especially with his limited vocabulary, but he decided to go for it anyway. "I…Smart…Smarter…Than…Others…Them…Treat…Me…No…Respect…Go…That…Way…For…Years." Sergei replied before taking a deep breath. "Meet…Rayman…Him…Treat…Me…With…Respect…Then…Escape…From…Other…Rabbids…I…No…Know…Where…Rayman…Go."

"It's good to see a Rabbid go against his natural instincts, but it's always hard for someone to lose track of a friend." Jamie sighed. "So what is your wish? We have the ability to transport anything, you know."

"Yes. Did you want us to bring Rayman here?" Carl added.

Sergei shook his head. "No…Rayman…Work…Hard…To…Escape…But…He…Give…Me…Ideas…To…Run…Away…Myself…But…I…Want…Help…Rayman." He replied. "I…Wish…To…Find…Rayman…And…Help…Him…Fight."

The siblings looked at each other and nodded before turning back to the victor. "Granted." They said as one as they lifted their arms into the air. Strange, blue energy flew from the arms of both siblings before flying into the air, igniting in an orb of light. After a couple of seconds, the light exploded in a bright explosion, blinding Sergei. When the light cleared, Sergei found himself standing in an open field on a sunny day.

Sergei recognized the scenery as his homeland. Deciding to put his time to good use, Sergei started searching for Rayman, hoping he could find him soon.

The Roberts' siblings were true to their word, because it didn't take long for Sergei to find Rayman. He saw the limbess hero in a small village with his friends. His face lighting up at the sight of Rayman, Sergei rushed into the village.

The large, overweight Globox saw Sergei coming and screamed. "Rayman! It's one of those Rabbids!" He shouted.

Rayman turned and saw Sergei coming, also lighting up. "It's okay, Globox. He's the nicer one I told you about." He said. "Hey, Sergei! What brings you here?"

"I…Run…From…Rabbids." Sergei replied. "I…Come…To…Join…You."

Although he was slightly surprised at Sergei speaking English, he smiled. "Sure, Sergei! We could use another set of muscle!" He said.

Although none of the others saw it, Sergei smiled.

To be continued…


	8. Spectre

Mike Dawson – Spectre

11111111111111111111111111111111111111111

**(Intro)**

Being dead was no fun, but Mike Dawson had gotten used to it by now.

The realm of deceased souls had been Mike's home for a number of years now. In fact, the black-haired young man had made it a daily duty to go and greet the newly deceased upon their entrance to the realm. Being dead for so long gave Mike a lot of time to think about what had happened during his life, and how much his world was in danger with him gone.

Mike didn't ask for the ability to cross over into the Darkrealm. It just happened one day and Mike found himself as a one-man army against a horde of evil beings bent on crossing over into his world and destroying everything in sight. The only real problem was that he was just an ordinary man and could only fight an uphill battle against the beings.

It took a long time, but Mike was able to find a way to combat the creatures and destroyed one of their main weapons against mankind, but not without a price. Four people from his town, including his ex-girlfriend were brutally murdered by the creatures and his best friend, a man he had known for years, turned out to be a being called the Shapeshifter, a being from the Darkrealm that could assume the form of a human. In fact, it was at the hands of this traitorous creature that Mike met his untimely end.

Mike knew that he was the only living human than knew anything about the Darkrealm at the time, and without him to stop the invasion, it would only be a matter of time before the creatures destroyed his world.

"I just wish I could do something." Mike sighed as he sat on a rock, holding his head in his hands. "Just sitting here doing nothing for so long is driving me crazy."

"Kid, you've been beating yourself up about that day ever since you got here." The ruler of the realm, a tall, cloaked being, said as he came over. "Why can't you just let it go?"

"How can I let it go?! Everything I did to stop that invasion will be in vain the instant those evil things cross over into my world!" Mike replied. "I was the only one that could do anything about it!" He returned to his moping. "If only I had a second chance. Now that I know what to expect, I may have been actually able to destroy the link between the realms altogether."

"That was exactly what I wanted to hear." The ruler said as he extended his sleeved arm to Mike. A letter emerged from within the darkness within it. "This came for you."

Mike lifted an eyebrow and took the letter. Seeing that it was indeed addressed to him, the young man ripped open the letter and read its contents. Mike's eyes widened at what he saw. "Are…Are you serious? Is this for real?"

"It is. This realm gets an invitation or two to that Twisted Metal contest every once in a while, and this year, the owner's decided to invite you." The ruler said. "If you win, you get a wish."

Mike looked at his transparent hand. "You mean…I can return to life if I win?" He asked.

"You interested, kid?" The ruler asked. "This could be your chance to set things right."

Mike didn't even need to think about it. Getting up, Mike quickly raced towards the edge of the realm he had called home for years and left. This was his chance to resume his one-man war against the Darkrealm, and he wasn't going to pass it up now that he had it.

**(Pre-Level One)**

Although he was still a ghost, Mike returned to his hometown and quickly found his old house. Everything was exactly as he had left it, and his old car was even still sitting in the driveway. All it took was a few seconds for Mike to posses his car and get it to run again, and after her did, he was off to join the Twisted Metal contest he had been hearing about. When he arrived, he sized up the competition. A few didn't look very tough, and the large tiger seemed afraid to approach him, but Mike knew firsthand never to judge a book by is cover. That judgment was what got him killed in the first place.

Currently, Mike was standing in a line in the middle of a packed stadium. In the line were the sixteen contestants, their respective vehicles parked just behind them, several mechanics working on all of them.

Suddenly, a large screen hanging from the ceiling turned on, showing two faces. Mike glanced upwards, realizing that these two were the owners of the contest, even though he had heard that the owner looked pretty different…

"Greetings, contestants." The male figure said. "I am Carl Roberts and this is my sister Jamie."

"Thank you for agreeing to participate in this tournament." Jamie added. "You are obviously aware of what is at stake, here."

"Currently, some of our men are fixing up the vehicles you all brought with high-powered weapons." Carl said. "Believe me. You need them to survive here."

"The aim of this contest is to be the last vehicle standing. If your vehicle explodes, you're out of the tournament, but don't worry. We have the technology to get you out of your car safely before it blows." Jamie said.

"However, you don't just have yourselves to worry about." Carl pointed out. "We have also invited three individuals to act as bosses that will fight the winner of a specific round."

"The final winner at the end will be the one that will earn the grand prize: A wish. Whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't involve us giving up our powers, will be granted."

"Good luck, everyone. May the best driver win!" The two siblings said as one.

Mike turned and walked towards his old car (which he had given the nickname of 'Spectre'), which had just been finished getting worked on. Mike didn't even need to open the door to the car and floated inside, surprising the nearby mechanics. The instant Mike was inside his old car, it sprang to life…

**(Pre-Level Three)**

Mike managed to score two wins in the contest, and was then told to go to an old parking lot for his next fight. The dead man drove his old car to the lot, but found the area empty, as if no one was even going to be there.

"This is the place, but there's no one here…" Mike mused as he glanced around the parking lot. "I don't know who my opponent is, but he's late."

Suddenly, Mike heard a strange tune being played. Looking to his right, Mike saw a white ice cream truck driving onto the scene, the music coming from the speakers on the roof.

Seeing that the ice cream truck was driving directly towards him, Mike quickly threw his car into gear and drove out of the way, allowing the ice cream truck to pass.

As soon as Mike had driven to the side, the ice cream truck did a spin before coming to a stop right beside the crane, revealing a man with red and yellow hair.

"That wasn't the smartest move, man. I can't die." Mike pointed out. "But you DID almost wreck my car, there."

"Dude, that's what I was trying to do." The man replied with a sly smirk. "The name's Sypher. I'm the boss of this zone."

"You're a boss? You look more like a clown to me." Mike responded. "I'll have this thing done in a flash."

"Hey, I didn't steal Duck's invitation to get mocked, pal." Sypher said as he drove ahead a bit and turned around to face Mike. "I'm going to beat you and win this thing to get that wish!"

Apparently, this guy wasn't the best of people. Mike realized, as he threw his car into gear, that he was going into battle with a thief. Telling himself that he wasn't going to lose to this guy, Mike drove headfirst at Sypher.

**(After Battle)**

Mike had just dealt the final blow. An explosion erupted from somewhere in the engine, making the hood of Sweet Tooth, Syper's ice cream truck, fly off and land several feet away.

"N-No! This can't be!!" Sypher cried in disbelief as his truck started to break down. "How could I lose?!"

That was all Sypher could get out before Sweet Tooth exploded in a ball of fire. Mike sat aside in Spectre, watching the fire from afar. He had just taken away Sypher's shot at winning, but it didn't really bother him that much considering it wasn't his invitation in the first place.

"I'm off to a good start. If I can keep this up, I'll get that wish." Mike mused as he turned around and drove out of the parking lot to go to his next fight.

**(Pre-Level Five)**

Two more wins later and Mike was driving Spectre onto a construction site to await his next battle. One look around the place showed Mike that the construction site was empty, much like the parking lot where he fought Sypher.

"Another empty arena." Mike said as he looked around. "I'm probably going to have another boss fight here."

Hearing an engine revving up, Mike found himself looking upwards, towards a dirt ramp leading into the 'arena'. A large vehicle shot off the ramp and soared overtop of Spectre before landing on the ground. When Mike took a better look, it was a dump truck.

"What's with the dump truck?" Mike asked. "I take it you're my opponent?"

"Yes." The brown-haired man driving the dump truck nodded. "My name's Flint Marko, but most people know me as 'Sandman'."

"Wait a minute. I've heard of you." Mike replied. "Did you steal your invitation like that Sypher creep?"

"I entered this legitimately, but I need the wish." Sandman replied, revving up his vehicle. "I have to take you down to get to the end and get that wish, and I'm going to see to it that I get it."

"I need the wish more than you could ever imagine, pal." Sergei replied. "I'm going to win and I'm not going to let a dump truck stand in my way."

**(After Battle)**

Sandman's eyes widened as he looked around at Manslaughter, his dump truck. Parts were starting to fall off and explosions were starting to erupt all around the vehicle.

"No! NO!" Sandman cried. "PENNY!!"

With that, Manslaughter exploded, sending the sand it was carrying scattering all over the construction site.

Sand splattered against the windshield of Spectre, and Mike quickly activated the wipers to clean the car off. As he looked at the smoldering dump truck, all Mike could think of was Sandman. Despite being a criminal, it sounded like he had a good reason for entering the contest. He almost felt bad for defeating him in such a manner, but took ease at knowing that he had been transported to safety.

That's when Mike realized what he was fighting for. Now that he had won his fight, he was even closer to getting that wish, and then he'd be able to continue his fight against the Darkrealm.

"I'm even closer now. I need to win that wish." Mike said as he drove his car out of the construction site to go off to fight his next battle, leaving the burning wreck that used to be Manslaughter behind.

**(Pre-Level Seven)**

Spectre drove onto the courtyard of an old castle, devoid of life like the previous two boss arenas. Mike knew by now that he was dangerously close to winning the entire contest, and also knew that things were only going to get harder, but pressed on anyway.

"No one's here either." Mike noted as he looked around. "If the past is any indication, then this is where-"

Mike didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because the gates on the other side of the courtyard were burst open. A huge vehicle barreled into the courtyard and came to a halt. Mike jumped in slight surprise, but relaxed when he saw the huge vehicle, identified as some sort of oil tanker, come to a stop.

"Just look at that thing! I'm supposed to FIGHT that?" Mike asked.

A furry, red head leaned out the driver's window. "Animal win contest!" The creature shouted determinedly. "Animal get wish and everything better!"

Mike was slightly disturbed at the sight of the furry creature, but calmed himself down. "He's not a Darkworlder." He told himself. "He's of no danger to the world…At least I don't think so."

Telling himself to stay clear of the oil tanker if he beat it, Mike drove into battle. He may have been a ghost, but the explosive would completely total his car...

**(After Battle)**

Animal didn't even get to shout in disbelief. Minion, the huge oil tanker he was driving, exploded in a huge ball of fire, sending debris and pieces of the metal monstrosity flying in all directions.

One piece of Minion flew straight towards Mr. Slam. The piece of scrap flew straight into the side of Spectre, tossing the car around a bit. However, because Mike was a ghost, he didn't feel a thing and simply remained in his seat.

As he watched Minion continue to burn, a memory suddenly came to Mike, reminding him of the day he had met his end.

"_J-Jack?...What're you doing?"_

"_**Sorry, Mikey. You've been a big thorn in our side for too long."**_

"…_You're the Shapeshifter! All this time you've been under my nose!"_

"_**I'm more than just the Shapeshifter, Mike. I'm your Darkside."**_

"_My…My Darkside? You're…Me from the Darkrealm…?"_

"_**That's right. And now…"**_

"…_Ack…"_

"_**Heh. See ya on the other side, Mikey."**_

"………"

Mike opened his eyes. He could still remember Jack shoving that dagger into his stomach, effectively killing him. He couldn't help but feel hurt, as Jack had been his friend for a long time, but the more Mike thought about it, Jack was just a being of the Darkrealm and was doing what came naturally. Unfortunately, what came naturally was killing the biggest threat to the Darkrealm invasion, and that was Mike.

"I hope Jack is still alive after all these years." Mike said, his eyes narrowed. "Because I'd love to see the look on his face when he finds me alive."

With that, Mike turned around and drove off to his next battle.

**(Level Eight)**

Mike was honestly surprised to see that he had won his final fight against the rest of the competitors. Now all that was left was to fight the final boss and then he would have won the contest and the much-coveted wish at the end. Mike was told that the fight would take place on the roof of a skyscraper, so the ghost went there as quickly as he could.

"This is the final boss, so he'll probably be a hard opponent." Mike told himself. "But I was able to get through the other bosses okay. Maybe he'll be no different."

Suddenly hearing another care driving onto the scene, Mike turned his head and saw a large, black version of Sweet Tooth driving onto the roof. The driver was a VERY disturbed individual.

"So you're the last one standing, eh?" Needles Kane, the psychotic clown and Twisted Metal mascot when the contest still belonged to Calypso, laughed. "This'll be easy! Those Roberts siblings will rue the day they banished me from the tournament!"

"So you were banned? I'm honestly not surprised." Mike shook his head. "How'd you get back in here if you were banned in the first place?"

"Isn't it obvious? I sneaked in and took the place of the final boss those new owners picked." Needles said with an insane grin. "And now, all that's left for me to do is to wipe you out."

"This is it. The final fight." Mike said as he stepped on the gas and drove headlong at Dark Tooth. "Once I get that wish, everything will go back to normal."

**(Ending)**

Carl and Jamie Roberts stood on a large, round platform, awaiting the winner of the contest to enter the 'lair', which looked more like a junkyard with all of the broken car parts scattered around.

Suddenly, the large doors at the other side of the lair opened and in rode a car, the winning vehicle.

Jamie noticed the glowing hue surrounding the car and smirked. "Isn't that Spectre?" She asked her brother.

"Indeed it is." Carl nodded as the vehicle came to a stop. "And that can only mean that the winner is…"

After stopping Spectre, Mike phased out of his car and walked up onto the platform to join the Roberts siblings.

"Mike Dawson, an ordinary young man thrust into an uphill battle against the Darkrealm." Carl greeted. "Congratulations. You've won this year's Twisted Metal contest."

"You needn't worry about the others. They're all fine." Jamie added. "Some of our best mechanics are rebuilding their vehicles so that they can get back home safely."

"You may claim your prize, Mike." Carl pointed out. "One wish, whatever your heart desires, will be granted."

Mike took a deep breath. He had been keeping this bottled up for years and was about to let it al out. "I had an ordinary life until I found a house which held a link to the Darkrealm. I barely managed to escape that place and destroy the link with my life, but that incident pretty much made me a human link between the realms." Mike explained. "I went against the Darkrealm for a long time, trying to find a way to stop a incoming invasion. I managed to destroy their main weapon before I got myself killed by someone I had considered a friend only moments before."

"Betrayal is always hard to cope with, even when the perpetrator is a being of pure evil to begin with." Jamie sighed. "So what is your wish? We have the ability to bring deceased people back, you know."

"Yes. Did you want us to bring you back to life?" Carl added.

"Is it at all possible?" Mike asked. "I mean, if I was brought back to life, I'd be able to continue my mission."

"We have the ability to grant anything, Mike." Jamie assured. "Nothing is out of reach for us."

"I'm the only one that even knows about the Darkrealm at all, let alone this invasion those beings are planning. I don't have any living relatives and I'm labeled as a madman where I live, but that doesn't matter to me. All that does is the success of my mission." Mike explained. "Officers, I wish to return to life so that I can continue my fight against the Darkrealm."

The siblings looked at each other and nodded before turning back to the victor. "Granted." They said as one as they lifted their arms into the air. Strange, blue energy flew from the arms of both siblings before flying into the air, igniting in an orb of light. After a couple of seconds, the light exploded in a bright explosion, blinding Mike. When the light cleared, Mike found himself standing in an old amusement park, standing in front of a familiar maze of mirrors.

Mike suddenly realized that he was back home and standing in front of the place that housed the main portal to the Darkrealm. Mike looked at his hands and his eyes widened when they were solid as opposed to transparent.

"I-I'm back! I'm actually back!" Mike cheered. "I'm alive again! And…And they sent me back home as well!"

Mike looked up at the grinning clown head at the entrance to the maze of mirrors. "Hopefully, the portal is still active. I need to see what those Darkworlders have been up to since I've been gone."

A shadow fell over Mike's face. He remembered everyone that had died during his quest to stop the Darkrealm invasion. Everyone he trusted was dead and Jack was an agent for the Darkrealm. He was truly on his own now.

"The Darkrealm won't succeed in their attempts at invasion. I swear it." Mike said determinedly. "Get ready, Jack. I'm coming for you as well."

With that, Mike marched into the maze of mirrors, resuming his fight against the Darkrealm after so many years. The world was depending on him to stop these monsters, even if no one knew it yet.

To be continued…


	9. Warthog

General Guy – Warthog

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**(Intro)**

"No, you idiots! That block goes over there!"

Shyguy's Toy Box was always a hectic place to live, especially when you were in charge of a small Shyguy army, and even more especially when said army was a completely incompetent bunch of cowards. The leader, a gray-cloaked Shyguy wearing the cap of an army general, had been stuck with this army for as long as he could remember. At first, the Shyguy leader didn't mind this, because he always thought that there was power in massive numbers.

However, that all changed once Bowser assigned the group of Shyguys to attack Toad Town and defeat Mario. The Shyguy leader didn't have any second thoughts about challenging the portly plumber, but once his army of Shyguys saw the power that Mario held, they all screamed like little girls and ran for the nearest exit.

In fact, there was only one Shyguy that was strong enough to take Mario on in a one-on-one fight, but the plumber had found his one weakness and slipped past him. After Mario defeated the Shyguy leader and left the Toy Box, the army fell apart and the strong Shyguy left the army altogether after an argument with the leader.

Now General Guy was regretting his decision to get rid of that particular warrior. There was no doubt that he was the strongest Shyguy in existence, and General Guy's army was a lot more fierce with him on their side. In fact, that Shyguy had almost been like General Guy's second in command, and was able to command the troops when the general himself couldn't get through to them.

General Guy watched as his Shyguy army struggled to carry a block over to a corner of the large room, starting to careen way off course. The Shyguys started to bicker in a comedic way as they tried to get the block over to the right spot. "More to the left, you fools!...No, the left! The LEFT!!" He shouted, getting frustrated at how hard it was to get through to his army sometimes. "How can my army be so incompetent?!"

"Sir! Sir!"

General Guy looked in the direction of the voice and saw a Shyguy scurrying over, holding a letter. On the way over, the Shyguy tripped over his own feet and landed painfully on the ground, having a couple of leg spasms before getting to his feet. The Shyguy quickly resumed his running and reached the general's side, showing him the letter.

"This came for you, general!" The Shyguy said. "We never get any mail, so this has to be important!"

General Guy lifted an eyebrow behind his mask as he took the envelope curiously and opened it. The Shyguy was right in saying that the army never got any mail. Heck, no one outside of the Mushroom Kingdom even knew their address.

Pulling out the letter from within the envelope, General Guy scanned it over and his eyes widened.

"What is it, sir?" The Shyguy asked curiously. The army of Shyguys comically careened by behind him, still struggling to carry the block.

"It's an invitation to something called Twisted Metal." General Guy replied. "From the looks of things, it's a game of vehicular destruction and the winner gets a wish."

"Sounds pretty big. Are you going to accept it?" The Shyguy replied. The other Shyguys uncontrollably careened by behind him again, this time faster and in the opposite direction.

General Guy scanned over the letter again before giving a nod. "I don't think I'd get a chance like this again. I'll accept the invitation." He replied.

"But who's going to lead the army while you're gone?"

General Guy looked at the rest of his army and saw that half of them were now being crushed underneath the block, which had slammed into the wrong wall. "I just think I'll let them do what they want. I can't get through to this army, anyway." He shook his head.

Marching past his clumsy army, which was now trying to get the block off of the crushed Shyguys, General Guy left the room to begin his trek to the contest.

**(Pre-Level One)**

Luckily, General Guy's trademark tank had just been repaired. He was unsure as to how a tank made of blocks would fare in a game of vehicular destruction, but General Guy decided to enter with it, anyway. Before too long, General Guy was at the dome where Twisted Metal would take place. He sized up the competition and suddenly realized that he was the smallest one entering the contest. General Guy felt intimidated at such fierce-looking competition, but decided to stick with his instincts and give the contest a shot.

Currently, General Guy was standing in a line in the middle of a packed stadium. In the line were the sixteen contestants, their respective vehicles parked just behind them, several mechanics working on all of them.

Suddenly, a large screen hanging from the ceiling turned on, showing two faces. Being so short, General Guy had to look up higher than the others and his neck hurt a little looking at the two people on the screen.

"Greetings, contestants." The male figure said. "I am Carl Roberts and this is my sister Jamie."

"Thank you for agreeing to participate in this tournament." Jamie added. "You are obviously aware of what is at stake, here."

"Currently, some of our men are fixing up the vehicles you all brought with high-powered weapons." Carl said. "Believe me. You need them to survive here."

"The aim of this contest is to be the last vehicle standing. If your vehicle explodes, you're out of the tournament, but don't worry. We have the technology to get you out of your car safely before it blows." Jamie said.

"However, you don't just have yourselves to worry about." Carl pointed out. "We have also invited three individuals to act as bosses that will fight the winner of a specific round."

"The final winner at the end will be the one that will earn the grand prize: A wish. Whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't involve us giving up our powers, will be granted."

"Good luck, everyone. May the best driver win!" The two siblings said as one.

General Guy turned and walked towards his tank (which the mechanics had jokingly given the nickname 'Warthog'; General Guy decided to stick with it), which had just been finished getting worked on. It took a bit of effort, but General Guy managed to climb up to the top of his tank and plop down in the driver's seat. General Guy ducked into the tank and closed the hatch behind him.

**(Pre-Level Three)**

After managing to score two wins, General Guy drove Warthog onto an old parking lot, where he was told his next fight would be. However, the lot was completely empty, which came as a surprise to the general.

"Looks like whatever's going on in here is going to be big." General Guy said, poking his head above the hatch of his tank. "There's no one here yet, and that's just building the suspense."

Suddenly, General Guy heard a strange tune being played. Looking to his right, General Guy saw a white ice cream truck driving onto the scene, the music coming from the speakers on the roof.

Seeing that the ice cream truck was coming towards him, General Guy's eyes widened behind his mask. "That guy's crazy!" He said as he jumped down to the controls and got out of the way.

As soon as General Guy had driven to the side, the ice cream truck did a spin before coming to a stop right beside the crane, revealing a man with red and yellow hair.

"You're a maniac, you fool!" General Guy shouted. "My vehicle may be bigger, but you driving into me that fast could have blown it up!"

"Dude, that's what I was trying to do." The man replied with a sly smirk. "The name's Sypher. I'm the boss of this zone."

"A boss, you say? Doesn't look like much of a threat." General Guy shrugged. "You seem like it'll be easy to get the jump on you."

"Hey, I didn't steal Duck's invitation to get mocked, pal." Sypher said as he drove ahead a bit and turned around to face General Guy. "I'm going to beat you and win this thing to get that wish!"

General Guy realized that this guy was not only incredibly cocky and overconfident, but had entered the contest illegally at the same time. General Guy ducked into Warthog and activated the controls, swearing that he wouldn't lose to the likes of Sypher.

**(After Battle)**

General Guy had just dealt the final blow. An explosion erupted from somewhere in the engine, making the hood of Sweet Tooth, Syper's ice cream truck, fly off and land several feet away.

"N-No! This can't be!!" Sypher cried in disbelief as his truck started to break down. "How could I lose?!"

That was all Sypher could get out before Sweet Tooth exploded in a ball of fire. Warthog was parked several feet away, safe from the explosion. General Guy watched as Sweet Tooth continued to burn, an emotionless expression on his face (although you wouldn't be able to tell with the mask).

"Not a bad fighter, but way too overconfident." General Guy noted before driving out of the parking lot, leaving the wreckage behind.

**(Pre-Level Five)**

Warthog drove onto an empty construction site after General Guy had managed to chalk up two more wins. The Shyguy general saw that he was once again opponentless as he looked around the construction site to find it empty, much like the boss arena had had been in a short while ago.

"Looks like another boss arena." General Guy said, poking his head out of the hatch again. "I wonder which direction my opponent will be coming from..."

Hearing an engine revving up, General Guy found himself looking upwards, towards a dirt ramp leading into the 'arena'. A large vehicle shot off the ramp and soared overtop of Warthog before landing on the ground. When General Guy took a better look, it was a dump truck.

"Hmm…A dump truck. Doesn't look very tough, but I've learned never to underestimate by now." General Guy pointed out. "That is if you ARE my opponent."

"Yes." The brown-haired man driving the dump truck nodded. "My name's Flint Marko, but most people know me as 'Sandman'."

"I think I've heard some of my army talking about you a couple of times." General Guy stated. "You didn't steal your invitation by any chance, did you?"

"I entered this legitimately, but I need the wish." Sandman replied, revving up his vehicle. "I have to take you down to get to the end and get that wish, and I'm going to see to it that I get it."

"I'm sure that you do, but I need that wish as well." General Guy replied. "I guess only time will tell to see if the better man wins."

**(After Battle)**

Sandman's eyes widened as he looked around at Manslaughter, his dump truck. Parts were starting to fall off and explosions were starting to erupt all around the vehicle.

"No! NO!" Sandman cried. "PENNY!!"

With that, Manslaughter exploded, sending the sand it was carrying scattering all over the construction site.

General Guy ducked into the hatch as sand splattered against Warthog. When the explosion subsided, General Guy poked his head out into the open again and looked at the wreckage of Manslaughter. Judging by Sandman's final outburst, General Guy realized that his opponent had a fairly noble entry for entering the contest to begin with.

That's when General Guy did something out of character for him to do. He stood straight and gave a salute in honour of his defeated opponent. Despite the fact that he knew that Sandman was safe, General Guy showed the salute as acknowledging respect for an opponent.

"I suppose this means that I'm still in the running for the wish." General Guy said as he ducked into his tank and drove off the lot to continue his trek for the grand prize.

**(Pre-Level Seven)**

Warthog managed two more wins before driving onto the courtyard of an old castle. General Guy realized that he actually had a good chance at winning now, but knew he still had a ways to go. He looked around the courtyard and found it empty.

"This is obviously another boss arena." General Guy guessed. "My opponent will be coming shortly, but the question is where-"

General Guy didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because the gates on the other side of the courtyard were burst open. A huge vehicle barreled into the courtyard and came to a halt. General Guy jumped in slight surprise, but relaxed when he saw the huge vehicle, identified as some sort of oil tanker, come to a stop.

"Who in their right mind drives a highly-explosive vehicle in a game like this?!" General Guy demanded.

A furry, red head leaned out the driver's window. "Animal win contest!" The creature shouted determinedly. "Animal get wish and everything better!"

"Well, he definitely doesn't LOOK like his in his right mind, so I guess it makes sense." General Guy muttered as he ducked down into the tank again.

General Guy drove Warthog into battle, reminding himself to stay clear in case of the imminent explosion. He may have been driving a tank, but it was STILL made of blocks…

**(After Battle)**

Animal didn't even get to shout in disbelief. Minion, the huge oil tanker he was driving, exploded in a huge ball of fire, sending debris and pieces of the metal monstrosity flying in all directions.

One piece of Minion flew straight towards Warthog. The piece of scrap flew straight into the front of Warthog, shoving the tank backwards a bit. General Guy shot forward in his seat and hit his head on the controls, blacking out.

While unconscious, General Guy was reminded of the day he had made what he considered the worst decision of his life through a dream.

"_You call yourself a soldier?! How could you let Mario take the treasure you were guarding?!"_

"_**He had lemon candy, general. You know that I'm a sucker for it."**_

"_A big enough sucker that you would abandon the only job you were given?!"_

"_**I don't understand why that treasure chest was so important, anyway. You never told me what was in it."**_

"_It shouldn't matter! You were given a job and you abandoned it! You know what that means, don't you?!"_

"_**You're honestly considering getting rid of me?"**_

"_I've already considered it! You, my friend can consider yourself an ex-member of the Shyguy Army!"_

"_**Fine. See if I care. We'll see how well that army of yours does without me around."**_

"_I can manage them well enough without you! Now get out of my sight!"_

General Guy slowly came back to consciousness as he sat upright, holding his head. He had quickly realized that Anti-Guy was right in saying that the army wouldn't do well without him. And now that he had fired the super-strong Shyguy, General Guy realized that it was entirely his fault that his army was such a large group of pushovers now. At least Anti-Guy had the ability to get through to the rest of the troops, and the general had been so cocky as to think he could do it on his own without the help of his second-in-command.

"I wonder if I'll get the chance to re-recruit him." General Guy mused. "He was such a strong warrior. My army is nothing without him."

With that, General Guy turned around and drove off to his next battle.

**(Level Eight)**

General Guy felt elated when he won his final fight. He realized now that the only thing separating him from the wish was a final boss fight. General Guy was told to go to the rooftop of a huge skyscraper, and the Shyguy general wasted no time in getting there. Warthog drove onto the rooftop, which looked big enough to be an arena itself.

"The final boss fight will probably be a lot harder than the others." General Guy told himself. "No matter how tough he is, I'm not going to back down now."

Suddenly hearing another care driving onto the scene, General Guy turned his head and saw a large, black version of Sweet Tooth driving onto the roof. The driver was a VERY disturbed individual.

"So you're the last one standing, eh?" Needles Kane, the psychotic clown and Twisted Metal mascot when the contest still belonged to Calypso, laughed. "This'll be easy! Those Roberts siblings will rue the day they banished me from the tournament!"

"A banned opponent? That doesn't make any sense." General Guy noted. "If you were banned, why are you still here?"

"Isn't it obvious? I sneaked in and took the place of the final boss those new owners picked." Needles said with an insane grin. "And now, all that's left for me to do is to wipe you out."

"I hate to disappoint you, but you're not wiping me out." General Guy said as he ducked into Warthog. "I'm not going to lose to a clown, even one as psychotic as you."

**(Ending)**

Carl and Jamie Roberts stood on a large, round platform, awaiting the winner of the contest to enter the 'lair', which looked more like a junkyard with all of the broken car parts scattered around.

Suddenly, the large doors at the other side of the lair opened and in rode a car, the winning vehicle.

Jamie noticed the colourful blocks making up the tank and smirked. "Isn't that Warthog?" She asked her brother.

"Indeed it is." Carl nodded as the vehicle came to a stop. "And that can only mean that the winner is…"

General Guy clambered out of his tank and slowly managed to get down onto the ground again. The Shyguy general scurried up onto the platform to meet with the siblings.

"General Guy, the leader of the Mushroom Kingdom's only Shyguy army." Carl greeted. "Congratulations. You've won this year's Twisted Metal contest."

"You needn't worry about the others. They're all fine." Jamie added. "Some of our best mechanics are rebuilding their vehicles so that they can get back home safely."

"You may claim your prize, Mike." Carl pointed out. "One wish, whatever your heart desires, will be granted."

General Guy gave a nod before giving his reply. "My army was once the most respected in the land. I held the power to defeat any other army in my hands. Up until recently, I though it was because of the sheer numbers in my troops, but then I realized that my entire army is made up of incompetent morons that scream and run at the first sign of a real threat." He explained. "Now my army is mainly looked at as more of a comical group of Shyguys that the kids of Toad Town actually look for entertainment from."

"We've heard of your army, General Guy. We have to admit that you guys actually ARE pretty funny." Jamie said, giving a light chuckle. "So what is your wish? We have the ability to give people better abilities, you know."

"Yes. Did you want us to give your army more skill?" Carl added.

"No. I've long since accepted the fact that my army will always be incompetent. Instead, this is about a single soldier that is no longer with my army. He was the strongest Shyguy I had ever seen and he made one simple mistake, after which I foolishly fired him from the army." General Guy replied. "I realize that he was the reason my army was so powerful in the first place and it's nothing without him to back it up. If I want to have that perfect army again, I need his strength. Officers, I wish that I would have the ability to get the Shyguy known as Anti-Guy back on my side."

The siblings looked at each other and nodded before turning back to the victor. "Granted." They said as one as they lifted their arms into the air. Strange, blue energy flew from the arms of both siblings before flying into the air, igniting in an orb of light. After a couple of seconds, the light exploded in a bright explosion, blinding General Guy.

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Warthog drove through the woods in the Mushroom Kingdom. Luckily, the path was wide enough for the tank to get through, so General Guy had no trouble making his way to his destination.

Eventually, General Guy arrived at a clearing in the woods, where he came upon a black-cloaked Shyguy training on some wooden dummies. Seeing the tank come in, Anti-Guy turned and struck a threatening pose, ready to take the tank on with his bare hands.

General Guy poked his head out through the hatch. "I come in piece, old friend." He said as he climbed out of his tank.

Anti-Guy lowered his fists. "What do you want, General Guy?" He asked. "If I remember correctly, you fired me."

"Anti-Guy, I've come to beg you for forgiveness." General Guy said. "I made a horrible mistake by firing you. I can't get through to any of my troops the way you can."

"…You sound like you actually mean it." Anti-Guy said. "I'm listening."

"Anti-Guy, I need your muscle. I was a fool to think otherwise." General Guy shook his head. "I need you back on the army more than anything. So please, give me another chance and come back."

The black-cloaked Shyguy stood in silence. "Do you promise not to criticize my one weakness again?" He asked.

"In all honesty, I personally have an extreme likeness to Lime Candy." General Guy shrugged.

Anti-Guy chuckled. "And you threw such a fit over my obsession with Lemon Candy." He said as he held out his stubby hand. "Okay. I'm back in, general."

"Thank you, Anti-Guy." General Guy said as he shook his second-in-command's hand.

Now it was only a matter of time before his army became powerful again. Soon, the Shyguy Army would regain their status as the most powerful in the land.

To be continued…


	10. Firestarter

Scorch – Firestarter

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**(Intro)**

The entire village was on fire. The streets were flooded with bodies of plastic soldiers, some dismembered and disfigured in horrible ways. The fire had been going for hours and the flames were still going strong.

What a lousy time to hold a ceremony for the signing of a peace treaty.

Everyone on both the green and tan army was looking forward to this momentous occasion, where Colonel Grimm of the Green Army and General Plastro of the Tan Army would finally put their differences aside and end the war. The war had been going on for what seemed like ages and the casualties for both sides had been great.

That's when the missile hit. Some rogue tans didn't like the thought of the greens and tans working together, so they wiped everyone on both sides out. There was only one survivor, and that was Sarge, the leader of a small team of green fighters that was capable of wiping out any tan soldier they came across. Upon seeing his army, his squad of heroes and his girlfriend dead, Sarge had gone on a one-man war against the small army of rogue tans to exact revenge.

However, he had failed to realize that someone else had survived the attack.

"Sarge…Why'd ya leave us…" The soldier asked aloud as he limped through the burning village (one of his legs had a large chunk of it blown off), towards the exit. "…Ya…Could've found more survivors…Before they died."

Normally, Scorch would have loved to see a fire this big, but currently the only thought in his mind was how much he wanted to get away from it. The plastic pyromaniac had sustained a lot of physical damage, but was somehow alive. It had taken a while, but Scorch managed to search the rest of the bodies. Unfortunately, he found no others. Scorch knew that if he wanted to have any chance at survival, he'd need to get back to the green base.

It pained Scorch to leave his friends behind, even if they were already long dead. The pyromaniac dragged himself through the desert for three days before he finally managed to arrive at the green base, which had somehow managed to remain intact after all of the attacks that had happened. Scorch always figured that the green base would have been the first target in such an attack.

Scorch managed to find an emergency medkit in the closet of one of the deceased soldiers. After a few hours of using it, Scorch had managed to repair all of the damage his body had sustained.

After he was healed, Scorch walked into Colonel Grimm's office and looked around, everything suddenly sinking in. The entire Green Army (and most of the tans) had been wiped out. This included all of his fellow fighters on Sarge's squad of heroes. A part of Scorch wanted to go out after Sarge and help him take down the rogue tans that had caused the attack, but decided against it.

"I'm a good fighter, but I'm no Sarge." Scorch shook his head. "I can't go against those creeps on my own."

The plastic pyromaniac sighed as he plopped himself down onto a chair. "If only there were more survivors of that attack." He said. "We'd actually have a chance to end the war…"

That's when Scorch suddenly noticed a letter sitting on Grimm's desk. Scorch realized that it was addressed to Sarge, but was still unopened.

"Sarge probably didn't come back here when he went off on that suicide mission." Scorch shook his head as he opened the letter and took out the note from within. His eyes suddenly widened when he realized what he was holding.

"Holy cow! Sarge…He passed this up?!" Scorch said. "If…If I can get that wish…Maybe I can get Sarge some more help…"

Without a second though, Scorch got up and fled the room. Hopefully, he'd find a decent vehicle that wasn't totaled. After all, he'd need all the armour he could get in a game of vehicular destruction.

**(Pre-Level One)**

The best thing Scorch could come up with was a fire truck, and even still it was just half a fire truck with the top half gone. But the main thing was that it could run and that was all that mattered to Scorch. The plastic pyromaniac wasted no time in driving to the destination on the invitation and had to convince the officials to let him in since he was coming in Sarge's place. Once Scorch was in, he became suddenly aware of the competition he was up against. A lot of these people didn't look tough, but there were indeed a few that looked like they would be a challenge to beat.

Currently, Scorch was standing in a line in the middle of a packed stadium. In the line were the sixteen contestants, their respective vehicles parked just behind them, several mechanics working on all of them.

Suddenly, a large screen hanging from the ceiling turned on, showing two faces. Scorch suddenly realized that he had to look up and tapped Edgeworth on the shoulder to get him to notice the monitor before looking up himself.

"Greetings, contestants." The male figure said. "I am Carl Roberts and this is my sister Jamie."

"Thank you for agreeing to participate in this tournament." Jamie added. "You are obviously aware of what is at stake, here."

"Currently, some of our men are fixing up the vehicles you all brought with high-powered weapons." Carl said. "Believe me. You need them to survive here."

"The aim of this contest is to be the last vehicle standing. If your vehicle explodes, you're out of the tournament, but don't worry. We have the technology to get you out of your car safely before it blows." Jamie said.

"However, you don't just have yourselves to worry about." Carl pointed out. "We have also invited three individuals to act as bosses that will fight the winner of a specific round."

"The final winner at the end will be the one that will earn the grand prize: A wish. Whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't involve us giving up our powers, will be granted."

"Good luck, everyone. May the best driver win!" The two siblings said as one.

Scorch turned and walked towards his truck (which he ironically called 'Firestarter'), which had just been finished getting worked on. Opening the door of his fire truck, Scorch jumped into the driver's seat. He fiddled with the controls for a bit before forming a smirk. Something told him he was going to enjoy himself here.

**(Pre-Level Three)**

Not a lot of people were expecting much from a fire truck, but Scorch surprised them after scoring two wins in a row. Afterwards, the pyromaniac was told to go to an old parking lot to await his next battle. When Scorch arrived, he saw the place was empty.

"That's strange. No one's here." Scorch said, scanning the lot. "There's no way they're scared of me yet. I haven't made that much of an impact yet."

Suddenly, Scorch heard a strange tune being played. Looking to his right, Scorch saw a white ice cream truck driving onto the scene, the music coming from the speakers on the roof.

"Oh, crap!" Scorch shouted as he threw his truck into gear and drove to the side.

As soon as Scorch had driven to the side, the ice cream truck did a spin before coming to a stop right beside the crane, revealing a man with red and yellow hair.

"You're crazier than me!" Scorch shouted. "You could have killed me, and let me assure you that I've already had enough of that!"

"Dude, that's what I was trying to do." The man replied with a sly smirk. "The name's Sypher. I'm the boss of this zone."

"Wait, you're a boss? With a getup like that." Scorch asked with a smirk. "You look like a mascot for a fast food place or something."

"Hey, I didn't steal Duck's invitation to get mocked, pal." Sypher said as he drove ahead a bit and turned around to face Scorch. "I'm going to beat you and win this thing to get that wish!"

Scorch realized that this guy had entered the contest through illegal means. Not that it made a difference to Scorch. As he started Firestarter, the only thing he could think of was how big of an explosion he could create using an ice cream truck…

**(After Battle)**

Scorch had just dealt the final blow. An explosion erupted from somewhere in the engine, making the hood of Sweet Tooth, Syper's ice cream truck, fly off and land several feet away.

"N-No! This can't be!!" Sypher cried in disbelief as his truck started to break down. "How could I lose?!"

That was all Sypher could get out before Sweet Tooth exploded in a ball of fire. Scorch sat back in his seat from afar and folded his arms with a satisfied smirk on his face. The pyromaniac gave a laugh.

"Fireworks make me all tingly inside." Scorch chuckled as he started Firestarter and drove out of the lot.

**(Pre-Level Five)**

Scorch easily plowed through the competition in two more battles. Firestarter once again drove onto an empty lot. This time it was a construction lot, and the pyromaniac knew by now that he'd need to be wary after his battle with Sypher.

"Seems like another boss arena." Scorch said, eyeing the lot suspiciously. "And it doesn't look like there's anything flammable here. Too bad…"

Hearing an engine revving up, Scorch found himself looking upwards, towards a dirt ramp leading into the 'arena'. A large vehicle shot off the ramp and soared overtop of Firestarter before landing on the ground. When Scorch took a better look, it was a dump truck.

"Awesome entrance, man. You should totally do stunts for a living." Scorch chuckled. "You the boss of this area?"

"Yes." The brown-haired man driving the dump truck nodded. "My name's Flint Marko, but most people know me as 'Sandman'."

"Can't say I'm familiar with either of those names, but you look kinda crooked." Scorch pointed out. "If you stole your invitation like that Sypher guy did…"

"I entered this legitimately, but I need the wish." Sandman replied, revving up his vehicle. "I have to take you down to get to the end and get that wish, and I'm going to see to it that I get it."

"Sorry, mac. That wish is mine." Scorch replied. "It's my only chance to make things right, and I ain't gonna let you stop me."

**(After Battle)**

Sandman's eyes widened as he looked around at Manslaughter, his dump truck. Parts were starting to fall off and explosions were starting to erupt all around the vehicle.

"No! NO!" Sandman cried. "PENNY!!"

With that, Manslaughter exploded, sending the sand it was carrying scattering all over the construction site.

Scorch watched as sand splattered against the front of Firestarter. He continued to watch Manslaughter burn, although not looking as interested in the fire as he normally would be. Sandman apparently had a good reason for entering, but was now out of the running since he had just lost the fight. Scorch couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

The pyromaniac knew that he was even closer to winning now that he had defeated the second boss. Starting up Firestarter again, Scorch turned his truck around.

"I've come too far to lose now. I need that wish." Scorch told himself as he drove out of the arena, leaving the burning dump truck in the lot.

**(Pre-Level Seven)**

Two more wins were added to Scorch's record when he was told to go to an old castle's courtyard for his next fight. The pyromaniac drove Firestarter onto the scene and suddenly realized that this arena was empty as well.

"Probably another boss arena." Scorch guessed. "But just where will he be-"

Scorch didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because the gates on the other side of the courtyard were burst open. A huge vehicle barreled into the courtyard and came to a halt. Scorch jumped in slight surprise, but relaxed when he saw the huge vehicle, identified as some sort of oil tanker, come to a stop.

"…A high-explosive oil tanker?" Scorch asked with a smirk. "Sounds like my kinda guy."

A furry, red head leaned out the driver's window. "Animal win contest!" The creature shouted determinedly. "Animal get wish and everything better!"

"Wow. He's crazier than I am. Even I wouldn't willingly drive one of those things in something like this." Scorch said as he drove Firestarter towards the oil tanker.

As he did, Scorch told himself to steer clear of the oil tanker if it exploded. He may have been crazy enough to be called a lunatic, but he definitely wasn't stupid…

**(After Battle)**

Animal didn't even get to shout in disbelief. Minion, the huge oil tanker he was driving, exploded in a huge ball of fire, sending debris and pieces of the metal monstrosity flying in all directions.

One piece of Minion flew straight towards Firestarter. The piece of scrap flew straight into the front of Firestarter, violently throwing Scorch around in his seat. Scorch ended up hitting his head, blacking out instantly.

He may have been made of plastic, but even Scorch was capable of dreaming. However, this current dream suddenly reminded him of that fateful day in the village.

"_I don't like this, guys."_

"_**What are you talking about, bro? Everything's so peaceful with all of the tans getting along with us."**_

"_That's what I don't like. Everything's going too smoothly…"_

"_**Man. I don't know if we've ever seen you this paranoid, Scorch. Usually, you just run headfirst into battle, flame-thrower a-blazing."**_

"_There's a first time for everything, Riff. I just think that something's gonna-"_

"_**Whoa. Hey, dudes. Check out that rad firework over there."**_

"_**Fireworks? What're you talking about, Shrap?"**_

"_**Over there, dudes. You see that big firework coming at us?"**_

"…_OH-"_

Scorch shot back into consciousness before the very-painful explosion returned back to his mind. The plastic pyromaniac breathed heavily, reminded of that horrible day when everything was blown to kingdom come. That was all Scorch was able to get out before the missile hit the ceremony and exploded, killing everyone there except for Scorch himself…That was his last conversation with Shrap and Riff before the explosion…That was the last time he saw either of them alive. Now he was all alone, the lone survivor of a mass murder and he knew that he wouldn't stand a chance against the ones responsible alone.

"I need that wish more than anyone else. There's no question about it." Scorch shook his head. "If I want to make things right, I need to win..."

With that, Scorch turned around and drove off to his next battle.

**(Level Eight)**

As Firestarter drove onto the roof of a tall skyscraper, Scorch suddenly realized that he was only one win away from winning the entire contest. The plastic pyromaniac knew that he was incredibly close to getting the extremely-desired wish at the end, and knew that he wasn't going to let anything else stand in his way. Due to this being the final arena, Scorch wasn't that surprised to find the rooftop empty.

"This is it. The final battle." Scorch mused. "Only one thing stands between me and that wish and that's my opponent."

Suddenly hearing another car driving onto the scene, Scorch turned his head and saw a large, black version of Sweet Tooth driving onto the roof. The driver was a VERY disturbed individual.

"So you're the last one standing, eh?" Needles Kane, the psychotic clown and Twisted Metal mascot when the contest still belonged to Calypso, laughed. "This'll be easy! Those Roberts siblings will rue the day they banished me from the tournament!"

"Hey, wait a minute! You were banned?" Scorch asked. "Then what are you doing back here?"

"Isn't it obvious? I sneaked in and took the place of the final boss those new owners picked." Needles said with an insane grin. "And now, all that's left for me to do is to wipe you out."

"Sorry, Mr. Happy. I need that wish more than anything." Scorch chuckled as he started Firestarter for the last time. "Allow me to wipe that stupid smile off that stupid face of yours."

**(Ending)**

Carl and Jamie Roberts stood on a large, round platform, awaiting the winner of the contest to enter the 'lair', which looked more like a junkyard with all of the broken car parts scattered around.

Suddenly, the large doors at the other side of the lair opened and in rode a car, the winning vehicle.

Jamie noticed the plastic look of the fire truck and smirked. "Isn't that Firestarter?" She asked her brother.

"Indeed it is." Carl nodded as the vehicle came to a stop. "And that can only mean that the winner is…"

Scorch stepped out of his truck and onto the ground. Seeing the Roberts siblings standing on the platform, the plastic pyromaniac went up to join them.

"Scorch, a plastic soldier with an unhealthy obsession with fire." Carl greeted. "Congratulations. You've won this year's Twisted Metal contest."

"You needn't worry about the others. They're all fine." Jamie added. "Some of our best mechanics are rebuilding their vehicles so that they can get back home safely."

"You may claim your prize, Mike." Carl pointed out. "One wish, whatever your heart desires, will be granted."

Scorch nodded. "I was part of the Green Army, working as part of a squad of heroes under a man named Sarge. Our enemy was the Tan Army, and we were going against them for as long as I could remember." He explained. "Then one day, after years of war, peace was finally declared. As both sides were celebrating, a missile flew into the town square and killed everyone at the ceremony save for me and Sarge, and even he doesn't currently know I'm alive."

"A cowardly attack from a bunch of rogues would be enough to set off anyone that survives, that's for sure." Jamie sighed. "So what is your wish? We have the ability to reverse time, you know."

"Yes. Did you want us to prevent that attack from even happening?" Carl added.

"No, actually. I admit that that was my initial wish, but not now. The more I think about it, Sarge wouldn't have given a lick of thought about those rogues unless something like that happened, so in a way, Sarge actually needed it." Scorch replied. "But after the attack, Sarge went on a war against those rogues all by himself. Even for him, that's suicide. If he had any more help, he may have had an easier job in his fight. Officers, I wish that there were survivors of that attack on the town square."

The siblings looked at each other and nodded before turning back to the victor. "Granted." They said as one as they lifted their arms into the air. Strange, blue energy flew from the arms of both siblings before flying into the air, igniting in an orb of light. After a couple of seconds, the light exploded in a bright explosion, blinding Scorch. When the light cleared, Scorch found himself in a familiar, burning village, dead bodies strewn about him. Needless to say, Scorch wasn't very thrilled.

"N-No…Everything's just as I left it…" Scorch said, looking around. "H-How could anyone have-"

"Ugh…Scorch?"

Scorch spun around at the familiar voice and saw Vikki Grimm, Sarge's girlfriend, slowly turning her head towards him.

"Vikki! You're alright!" Scorch said as he rushed over to Vikki's side and helped her up. "How do you feel? Are you okay?"

"I…I feel fine. What…What happened?" Vikki asked. Before Scorch could reply, he was greeted with another voice.

"Oh, dude. That totally hurt..."

"Shrap! Can you hear me? It's Scorch!"

"…Daaaah. My head hurts…"

"Thick!"

As time went on, Scorch found more and more survivors. When all of the survivors were accounted for, Vikki, all of Sarge's Heroes, and twelve soldiers (a mixture of both green and tan) stood before Scorch, each armed with their weapons.

"Okay. I know that you're all clearly upset that the ceremony ended this way." Scorch explained. "But at least we managed to find the survivors. That's the main thing. Now here comes the point. Sarge is out there all by himself, fighting a one-man war against the rogues responsible for this attack."

"He's out there by himself?!" Vikki asked, her eyes wide. "We need to help him!"

"I was getting to that, Vikki. Here's the plan. For now, we'll all go back to the green base to recover and regroup. Once that's done, we'll go after Sarge and try to help him finish this war for good." Scorch said. "Now who's with me?"

All of the survivors cheered and the heroes raised their weapons. Riff was holding his trademark bazooka, Thick was wielding a heavy-looking machine gun, Hoover was clutching his minesweeper and Shrap was grinning as he held onto his mortar.

Scorch grinned as he held up the barrel of his flame-thrower. "Then let's do this! To the green base!" He shouted.

Everyone cheered as they followed Scorch out of the burning town, starting their trek back to the green base. Scorch knew that there were only a few survivors of the attack, but that was definitely more than what he had started out with.

To be continued…


	11. ATV

Mona – ATV

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**(Intro)**

Diamond City was always a bustling metropolis, and it had become even bigger thanks to the publicity of Wario Ware Inc. This game company, which had literally appeared out of nowhere a number of years ago, had increased the popularity of the already-large city. Since then, the city had doubled in size and new businesses were popping up everywhere. Other game companies wanted to expand on the popularity of Wario Ware, but the owner knew a lot of things about business and had put up a massive copyright law that prevented any imitators from copying his unique style of games.

One of the businesses that had been around almost as long as the city itself was Mona Pizza, a parlor that was easily accessible from anywhere in the city. The owner, a young woman named Mona, had seen business increase amazingly since she had started making games for Wario Ware Inc. Her games were always some of the most-popular ones in the company, which was one of the reasons the owner kept her around the entire time.

Mona wasn't complaining, mind you. She enjoyed making more pizza deliveries, because that meant more business. Currently, the redhead was waiting for her chef, Joe, to make another pizza for delivery. As she was waiting, Mona heard the door open and the bell above it ringing. Turning her head, Mona was expecting to see a customer come in, but saw her boss enter instead.

There was always something about that Wario character that made Mona look at him differently than the other employees of the company for some odd reason. Wario seemed to see the others as acquaintances that could be responsible for bringing in more money for the company. However, Wario seemed to treat Mona (and possibly Jimmy T as well; Wario seemed to be good friends with him) with more respect than the others.

"Heya, Wario! What'll you be having today?" Mona asked cheerfully.

"Double-garlic, Mona. My usual." Wario replied.

"Sure thing. We're testing out some new flavours of garlic if you'd like to try some of that as well." Mona suggested.

Wario gave a toothy grin. "You know I love my garlic, Mona. Pile it on!" He said. As Mona gave the order to Joe, Wario continued. "I take it you haven't buried the hatchet with Pizza Dinosaur yet, have you?"

"Uh…No. They still hate my guts." Mona explained, an eyebrow raised. "Why?"

Wario tossed a few flyers on top of the counter. "I caught some punk putting up ads for Pizza Dinosaur in your store window." He replied. "I gave him a piledriver for his troubles."

Mona winced, then sighed. Pizza Dinosaur was a rival pizza company, and they had opened a location in Diamond City. However, the entire population of Diamond City preferred Mona's pizza to theirs, and the rival company had been trying to steal the business from Mona ever since. Mona always thought the measures Pizza Dinosaur used to get her out of the picture was stupid, but she had always been unable to do anything about it.

"I just wish there was some way to get those creeps off my back." Mona sighed. "It'd be nice to deliver a pizza without having to worry about an airborne assault from them."

Suddenly, Joe poked his head into view. "Hey, Mona! What about that invitation you got?" He asked.

Wario looked confused, then looked at Mona. "Invitation?"

"Ah, I got an invitation to something called Twisted Metal." Mona shrugged. "They SAY that the winner of the contest gets a wish, but I get enough of that spam stuff not to believe it."

"Mona, that stuff is real!" Wario insisted. "I watch that contest every year!"

"Wait…You mean that wish-granting stuff is for real?" Mona asked.

"You just gotta remember to phrase your wish exactly how you want it, though." Wario said. "From what I can tell, that Calypso owner is pretty sadistic."

Mona couldn't believe what she was hearing. If this contest was for real and it was actually possible to get Pizza Dinosaur to leave her alone for good, then Mona just couldn't pass the opportunity up.

"I think I may enter this contest." Mona said with a smile. "Will you be alright handling the place while I'm gone, Joe?"

"You bet, Mona!" Joe nodded. "You go and win that contest! It'll be good to get those creeps off our backs!"

"Hey! Nobody leaves until I get my pizza!" Wario barked.

"Sorry, boss." Mona said with a chuckle.

**(Pre-Level One)**

Mona didn't really have a lot of choices when it came down to a vehicle, as the best thing she could drive was always her scooter. However, Mona managed to find an ATV and decided to enter with that. When the redhead arrived at the dome where the contest would be taking place, Mona realized what she would be going up against to win the wish. She saw that everyone else in the running for first place looked just as determined as she was, so she made a mental reminder not to take anyone lightly once the contest started.

Currently, Mona was standing in a line in the middle of a packed stadium. In the line were the sixteen contestants, their respective vehicles parked just behind them, several mechanics working on all of them.

Suddenly, a large screen hanging from the ceiling turned on, showing two faces. Mona glanced upwards and lifted an eyebrow. Wario told her that there was only one owner, and these two looked like okay people.

"Greetings, contestants." The male figure said. "I am Carl Roberts and this is my sister Jamie."

"Thank you for agreeing to participate in this tournament." Jamie added. "You are obviously aware of what is at stake, here."

"Currently, some of our men are fixing up the vehicles you all brought with high-powered weapons." Carl said. "Believe me. You need them to survive here."

"The aim of this contest is to be the last vehicle standing. If your vehicle explodes, you're out of the tournament, but don't worry. We have the technology to get you out of your car safely before it blows." Jamie said.

"However, you don't just have yourselves to worry about." Carl pointed out. "We have also invited three individuals to act as bosses that will fight the winner of a specific round."

"The final winner at the end will be the one that will earn the grand prize: A wish. Whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't involve us giving up our powers, will be granted."

"Good luck, everyone. May the best driver win!" The two siblings said as one.

Mona turned and walked towards her ATV, which had just been finished getting worked on. Placing her goggles over her eyes, Mona jumped onto the ATV and started the engine. When it came to life, the redhead smirked.

**(Pre-Level Three)**

The small size of Mona's ATV took everyone by surprise, allowing the redhead to earn two wins easily. As requested earlier, Mona drove onto an old parking lot to await her next battle, but found the place devoid of life.

"Doesn't look like anyone's here." Mona noted. "That's funny. Where are my opponents?"

Suddenly, Mona heard a strange tune being played. Looking to her right, Mona saw a white ice cream truck driving onto the scene, the music coming from the speakers on the roof.

"What is that guy thinking?!" Mona screamed as she drove out of harm's way.

As soon as Mona had driven to the side, the ice cream truck did a spin before coming to a stop right beside the ATV, revealing a man with red and yellow hair.

"You're a complete maniac!" Mona snapped. "If I wasn't so used to things like that happening, you could have killed me!"

"Dude, that's what I was trying to do." The man replied with a sly smirk. "The name's Sypher. I'm the boss of this zone."

"Oh. A boss battle. That explains why there's no one else here." Mona nodded in realization. "But boss or not, it looks like you'll give me no problem."

"Hey, I didn't steal Duck's invitation to get mocked, pal." Sypher said as he drove ahead a bit and turned around to face Mona. "I'm going to beat you and win this thing to get that wish!"

Mona realized that this guy hadn't entered legitimately and narrowed her eyes. The last time she ran into a thief (which was Wario, by the way), she didn't let him off easy. And she definitely wasn't going to give this creep an easy time…

**(After Battle)**

Mona had just dealt the final blow. An explosion erupted from somewhere in the engine, making the hood of Sweet Tooth, Syper's ice cream truck, fly off and land several feet away.

"N-No! This can't be!!" Sypher cried in disbelief as his truck started to break down. "How could I lose?!"

That was all Sypher could get out before Sweet Tooth exploded in a ball of fire. Mona's ATV sat safely out of range as the redhead watched the ice cream truck burn. She shook her head in hopelessness.

"He calls himself a villain. Wario's a hundred times better than he is." Mona mused as she drove her ATV out of the lot to go to her next battle.

**(Pre-Level Five)**

Mona was able to secure two more wins after her first boss fight. After her fourth normal fight, Mona drove her ATV onto a construction lot, where she was told her next fight would be. Much like the parking lot earlier, the construction lot was empty.

"Looks like I've got another boss coming up." Mona noted. "I wonder if this next guy will be as easy as that Sypher guy…"

Hearing an engine revving up, Mona found herself looking upwards, towards a dirt ramp leading into the 'arena'. A large vehicle shot off the ramp and soared overtop of the ATV before landing on the ground. When Mona took a better look, it was a dump truck.

"Hmm…You definitely look like you have a tougher vehicle than the last guy." Mona pointed out. "Are you my opponent?"

"Yes." The brown-haired man driving the dump truck nodded. "My name's Flint Marko, but most people know me as 'Sandman'."

"I think I may have heard about you fom 9-Volt and the other kids." Mona said suspiciously. "Did you steal your invitation into this like the last guy?"

"I entered this legitimately, but I need the wish." Sandman replied, revving up his vehicle. "I have to take you down to get to the end and get that wish, and I'm going to see to it that I get it."

"I need that wish, mister. You're not stopping me." Mona warned. "If you think I'm going to let a dump truck beat me, you're highly mistaken."

**(After Battle)**

Sandman's eyes widened as he looked around at Manslaughter, his dump truck. Parts were starting to fall off and explosions were starting to erupt all around the vehicle.

"No! NO!" Sandman cried. "PENNY!!"

With that, Manslaughter exploded, sending the sand it was carrying scattering all over the construction site.

Mona's ATV was parked just out of range, so she didn't get splattered with sand. Even still, Mona's gaze softened as she watched Manslaughter burn. He clearly had a good reason for entering and he wasn't exactly the monster Mona had heard about from the kids…

Mona sighed, deciding to put that thought aside for now and focus on the fact that she was even closer to winning now. Revving up her ATV, Mona stared at the exit to the lot.

"Just a little more and I'll be able to get that wish." Mona said to herself as she drove straight past Manslaughter's wreckage and out of the lot.

**(Pre-Level Seven)**

After chalking up two more wins, Mona was told to go to an old castle. Mona drove her ATV onto the courtyard and looked around for an opponent. However, this place was just as empty as the previous two boss arenas.

"Another boss fight?" Mona asked. "How many of these do I have to-"

Mona didn't get a chance to finish her sentence, because the gates on the other side of the courtyard were burst open. A huge vehicle barreled into the courtyard and came to a halt. Mona jumped in slight surprise, but relaxed when she saw the huge vehicle, identified as some sort of oil tanker, come to a stop.

"Why are you driving that thing in something like this?" Mona asked the driver. "Are you suicidal or something?"

A furry, red head leaned out the driver's window. "Animal win contest!" The creature shouted determinedly. "Animal get wish and everything better!"

"I've come too far to lose now. I need to beat that thing if I want to continue." Mona said as she drove her ATV towards the oil tanker.

However, on her way over, Mona started thinking of how she was going to get out of range once she defeated this thing. After all, an oil tanker would definitely create a huge explosion…

**(After Battle)**

Animal didn't even get to shout in disbelief. Minion, the huge oil tanker he was driving, exploded in a huge ball of fire, sending debris and pieces of the metal monstrosity flying in all directions.

One piece of Minion flew straight towards Mona's ATV. Mona didn't have anything to protect her from the debris and took the blow to the head. Mona fell unconscious as her vehicle was sent flying backwards.

Mona was passed out in the seat of her ATV. The redhead's mind was currently replaying a memory .

"_**M-Mona! What happened?!"**_

"_N-Nothing, Joe. The goons from Pizza Dinosaur ran me off the road."_

"_**What the? Mona, yer bleeding!"**_

"_Wario, I'm…I'm fine. I just barely managed to get the pizza delivered on time."_

"_**Mona, forget the pizza! You're hurt! Where's the medkit…"**_

"_**I can't believe those creeps actually went this far. Maybe I should go over and wreck their restaurant…"**_

"_Wario, please. I don't want to anywhere near that place. It's not worth it."_

"…_**You're too nice for you own good, Mona."**_

"_Heh. I get that a lot."_

Mona drifted back to reality as she sat up. She remembered that day. Not just because it was the day Pizza Dinosaur actually managed to bring physical harm to her, but because Wario actually seemed genuinely concerned for her well-being. For once, Mona was able to see Wario's softer side, even if it only lasted a short while. Wario made good on his promise to Mona and left Pizza Dinosaur alone, but the owner of Wario Ware had long been planning a way to get the crooked chain shut down behind the backs of everyone else. Now Mona had the chance to actually do the job for Wario and finally end the stupid rivalry.

"This is my chance to end this war." Mona said to herself. "I'm so close to making it a reality. Just a few more rounds…"

With that, Mona turned around and drove off to her next battle.

**(Level Eight)**

Mona felt extremely nervous as she drove onto the roof of a skyscraper. She had been told that this would be the final fight, so Mona knew that if she won this next battle, she'd get the wish. She knew that this was the final battle, and thus probably the toughest fight yet, but she knew that she had already come too far to go down now, especially with so much on the line.

"I wonder who the final boss will be..." Mona pondered. "Some of the other bosses were no pushovers and this guy's probably going to be worse..."

Suddenly hearing another car driving onto the scene, Mona turned her head and saw a large, black version of Sweet Tooth driving onto the roof. The driver was a VERY disturbed individual.

"So you're the last one standing, eh?" Needles Kane, the psychotic clown and Twisted Metal mascot when the contest still belonged to Calypso, laughed. "This'll be easy! Those Roberts siblings will rue the day they banished me from the tournament!"

"So you were banned?" Mona asked. "That doesn't make sense. If you're supposed to be banned, then why are you here?"

"Isn't it obvious? I sneaked in and took the place of the final boss those new owners picked." Needles said with an insane grin. "And now, all that's left for me to do is to wipe you out."

"If you think I'm going to lose to a deranged clown, you're quite mistaken." Mona said as she drove towards Dark Tooth. "That wish is as good as mine."

**(Ending)**

Carl and Jamie Roberts stood on a large, round platform, awaiting the winner of the contest to enter the 'lair', which looked more like a junkyard with all of the broken car parts scattered around.

Suddenly, the large doors at the other side of the lair opened and in rode a car, the winning vehicle.

Jamie noticed the small form of the ATV and smirked. "Isn't that the ATV?" She asked her brother.

"Indeed it is." Carl nodded as the vehicle came to a stop. "And that can only mean that the winner is…"

Mona leapt off the ATV and removed the goggles from her eyes. Seeing the owners up on the platform, Mona went up to join them.

"Mona, a delivery girl and employee for a popular gaming company." Carl greeted. "Congratulations. You've won this year's Twisted Metal contest."

"You needn't worry about the others. They're all fine." Jamie added. "Some of our best mechanics are rebuilding their vehicles so that they can get back home safely."

"You may claim your prize, Mona." Carl pointed out. "One wish, whatever your heart desires, will be granted."

Mona nodded and gave her reply. "I run a popular pizza joint in my city. Everyone likes the pizza I sell and I've become one of the biggest names in the entire city." She explained. "However, there's always been a rival pizza company jealous of my popularity and they've been trying to get me out of the way for as long as I've been open. They've even gone so far as to attempt to kill me, which they've tried to do many times before."

"All this over the popularity of a pizza place? I can't believe it." Jamie sighed. "So what is your wish? We have the ability to alter the timeline, you know."

"Yes. Did you want us to prevent that place from ever attacking you?" Carl added.

"Actually, I have to admit that if it weren't for those attacks, I probably wouldn't be as alert as I am today. However, I DO want to put an end to this stupid rivalry once and for all." Mona explained. "These goons have been on my back for way too long now and I just want to end it. Officers, I wish that Pizza Dinosaur would cease and desist with constantly attacking my business."

"We can do that Mona, but we need you to realize a few things." Jamie pointed out. "In order to keep this timeline going to your liking, Pizza Dinosaur will have to do something different, and it'll probably end up being worse than just a pizza delivery company."

"Indeed. They won't be after your company anymore, but we'll have to send them after someone else." Carl added.

Mona hesitated, then nodded. "That's fine with me." She agreed.

The siblings looked at each other and nodded before turning back to the victor. "Granted." They said as one as they lifted their arms into the air. Strange, blue energy flew from the arms of both siblings before flying into the air, igniting in an orb of light. After a couple of seconds, the light exploded in a bright explosion, blinding Mona.

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Mona drove her ATV back to Diamond City. The redhead girl was wondering what Pizza Dinosaur would be doing if they weren't going to attack her company. When Mona arrived back at her store, she went inside to check up on things.

"Hey, Joe! Things been going okay since I've been gone?" Mona asked.

"Oh! Mona, you're back!" Joe said as he came into view. "How'd everything go?"

"Pretty well, actually." Mona nodded. "Has Pizza Dinosaur tried anything lately?"

"Actually, no. We had a couple of small attacks just after you left, but lately, we haven't heard from them at all." Joe shrugged.

"That's good news. Maybe that means they'll leave us alone." Mona said. "I think I'll go over and see Wario to tell him how things went."

Mona quickly left her store and drove her faithful scooter across the city to Wario Ware Inc. When she arrived, Mona went inside to greet her boss.

"Hey, Wario! You'll never guess what happened!" Mona said.

"You won Twisted Metal and wished for Pizza Dinosaur to leave you alone?" Wario asked, an unamused look on his face.

Mona blinked a couple of times, confused at Wario's expression. "Uh…Yeah." She nodded. "Why do you sound upset?"

Wario pulled out a remote control and pressed a button on it. The roof opened up, revealing a black ship hovering above Wario Ware with Pizza Dinosaur's logo on the side.

"Now that they've left you alone, they've gone into the gaming business." Wario explained. "They call themselves Dinosaur Industries now and they've just started attacking my company, trying to prevent me from putting out my new game."

Mona's eyes widened. "Oh, no! The owners of Twisted Metal said they'd have to attack someone else, but I didn't know it'd be you!" She explained. "But…At least you can fight them off, right? I mean, you HAVE the technology at your disposal."

"Yeah. I'm not mad that those bozos are attacking my company." Wario explained. "I'm just annoyed that I actually have to do something to get rid of them. Hand me that phone over there, will ya?"

"You going to call Crygor?" Mona asked as she handed Wario a cordless phone.

"Yeah. We'll give him the chance to use his surface-to-air-and-back-to-surface-again missile." Wario explained.

Mona couldn't help but smile. Sure, Pizza Dinosaur was going after Wario now, but at least he was more capable of getting rid of them than she was.

To be continued…


	12. Axel

Tiny Tiger – Axel

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**(Intro)**

N. Sanity Island was a pretty unusual place to live. You could be relaxing on the beach one moment and running from a tribe of deranged headhunters the next. Some moments could even involve power-hungry mad scientists bent on world domination, only to be foiled each time by a grinning, dopey bandicoot wearing nothing but tennis shoes and a pair of shorts.

All in all, it was a pretty average life on the island.

Inside a large castle on the island, a short scientist with a huge head was working on a contraption. The contraption looked like nothing more than two huge wheels with a platform connecting them, but this did little to stop the vertically-challenged man. Once he was done, the scientist turned off his blowtorch and removed the welding mask from his face, revealing a balding man with a large mustache and a large N right in the middle of his huge forehead.

"At last. It is finished." Dr. Neo Cortex said with a crooked grin. "My moving death machine is fully operational." Looking towards a door to the side of the room, the scientist continued. "Tiny! Get in here!"

However, there was silence. No one entered the room Cortex was standing in. "Tiny!" He tried again, this time louder. Once again, he was greeted with silence.

Cortex growled. If there was one thing he hated almost as much as that cursed bandicoot, it was henchmen that didn't come when called. Cortex stormed over to the door. "Tiny!! Get in her right now!" He ordered, placing his hand on the doorknob.

The door was suddenly thrown open, slamming Cortex into the wall. A huge, orange tiger entered the room and looked around.

"Yes, Dr. Cortex?" Tiny asked, looking around.

The door closed, revealing a comically-flattened Cortex pressed against the wall. Cortex collapsed onto his face before popping back into shape and standing up. "So good of you to come, Tiny." He said sarcastically.

Tiny grinned. "Anytime!" He assured.

"Anyway, down to business. You know that I received an invitation to this Twisted Metal contest, right?" Cortex asked, pulling out an envelope. He received a nod from the huge tiger. "Well, I needed to build a machine to enter and what I ended up with is far to big for me to pilot. That's why I want you to enter in my place, Tiny."

Tiny blinked. "Doctor want Tiny to enter contest with machine?" He asked.

"Yes. The wish for a weapon to finally rid myself of that bandicoot is too tempting to pass up, but I'm unable to build something I can pilot that would actually have a chance in a game of vehicular destruction." Cortex explained. "You are the strongest minion I've got, so I know that you'd have the best chance at getting the wish for me."

The orange tiger grinned, then nodded. "Okay! Tiny do good! Tiny win!" He assured.

"Good to hear. Now, remember that once you are locked in place, you won't be able to get out again until you come back here and I will unlock you from the machine." Cortex explained. "You can easily control the machine with your mind, so it shouldn't take too long for you to get the hang of it."

"So…Tiny get in when contest start, but not be able to get out until contest over?" Tiny double-checked.

"You're correct, Tiny." Cortex nodded. "Now, can I trust you to try your hardest and wish me that weapon?"

Tiny nodded, scratching his head. "Okay. Tiny try hard."

**(Pre-Level One)**

Tiny had no trouble carrying Cortex's two-wheeled contraption to the dome the contest would be held in. He knew that he wasn't supposed to get in until the contest started, so the tiger made sure that he would only get in when he felt it was right. When he arrived at the dome, Tiny had to admit that a couple of the other contestants scared him a little bit. A few of the others seemed to be avoiding the large tiger, but Tiny thought that they seemed like okay people and was wondering what they were so scared about.

Currently, Tiny was standing in a line in the middle of a packed stadium. In the line were the sixteen contestants, their respective vehicles parked just behind them, several mechanics working on all of them.

Suddenly, a large screen hanging from the ceiling turned on, showing two faces. Tiny glanced upwards when he saw that the others were looking up as well.

"Greetings, contestants." The male figure said. "I am Carl Roberts and this is my sister Jamie."

"Thank you for agreeing to participate in this tournament." Jamie added. "You are obviously aware of what is at stake, here."

"Currently, some of our men are fixing up the vehicles you all brought with high-powered weapons." Carl said. "Believe me. You need them to survive here."

"The aim of this contest is to be the last vehicle standing. If your vehicle explodes, you're out of the tournament, but don't worry. We have the technology to get you out of your car safely before it blows." Jamie said.

"However, you don't just have yourselves to worry about." Carl pointed out. "We have also invited three individuals to act as bosses that will fight the winner of a specific round."

"The final winner at the end will be the one that will earn the grand prize: A wish. Whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't involve us giving up our powers, will be granted."

"Good luck, everyone. May the best driver win!" The two siblings said as one.

Tiny turned and walked towards his vehicle (which had been given the name of 'Axel' because it reminded the owners of a past contestant), which had just been finished getting worked on. Tiny climbed onto the platform in between the wheels and looked at the sockets his arms would go into. Taking a deep breath, Tiny shoved his hands into the sockets, hearing a locking sound...

**(Pre-Level Three)**

Cortex was right. It didn't take Tiny very long at all to get the hang of his new vehicle and he was able to score two wins. Tiny was told to go to an old parking lot to await his next battle, but when the large tiger drove Axel onto the lot, he found it to be empty.

"No opponents here." Tiny noticed. "Does this mean Tiny win fight by default?"

Suddenly, Tiny heard a strange tune being played. Looking to his right, Tiny saw a white ice cream truck driving onto the scene, the music coming from the speakers on the roof.

Seeing that the ice cream truck was coming towards him, Tiny screamed and drove to the side, getting out of the way just in time.

As soon as Tiny had driven to the side, the ice cream truck did a spin before coming to a stop right beside the two-wheeled contraption, revealing a man with red and yellow hair.

"You coward for trying to attack Tiny when he no use arms!" Tiny roared. "Tiny have no way to defend himself! Man could have killed Tiny!"

"Dude, that's what I was trying to do." The man replied with a sly smirk. "The name's Sypher. I'm the boss of this zone."

"You boss? Maybe this not so bad, then." Tiny said before forming a grin. "You no look like trouble. Tiny win easily."

"Hey, I didn't steal Duck's invitation to get mocked, pal." Sypher said as he drove ahead a bit and turned around to face Tiny. "I'm going to beat you and win this thing to get that wish!"

Tiny narrowed his eyes. He admitted that he wasn't the smartest, but Tiny knew that this guy had entered with someone else's invitation. Not liking the sound of that fact, Tiny mentally started Axel and drove straight towards Sypher.

**(After Battle)**

Tiny had just dealt the final blow. An explosion erupted from somewhere in the engine, making the hood of Sweet Tooth, Syper's ice cream truck, fly off and land several feet away.

"N-No! This can't be!!" Sypher cried in disbelief as his truck started to break down. "How could I lose?!"

That was all Sypher could get out before Sweet Tooth exploded in a ball of fire. Tiny had parked Axel just out of range and watched as Sweet Tooth exploded. He formed a grin.

"Him villain? Cortex much better than him." Tiny chuckled as he started Axel and rolled out of the lot.

**(Pre-Level Five)**

Two more wins later and Tiny was driving Axel onto a construction lot. The large tiger was told to go to this arena for his next battle, and Tiny noticed that the construction yard was just as empty as the parking lot Tiny had fought Sypher in.

"No opponent here either." Tiny noticed. "Maybe Tiny fight another boss fight in arena here…"

Hearing an engine revving up, Tiny found himself looking upwards, towards a dirt ramp leading into the 'arena'. A large vehicle shot off the ramp and soared overtop of Axel before landing on the ground. When Tiny took a better look, it was a dump truck.

"You drive dump truck? Tiny not sure how well that do." Tiny pointed out. "You boss Tiny has to fight?"

"Yes." The brown-haired man driving the dump truck nodded. "My name's Flint Marko, but most people know me as 'Sandman'."

"…Hey! Tiny know you! You villain!" Tiny accused. "You steal invitation as well?"

"I entered this legitimately, but I need the wish." Sandman replied, revving up his vehicle. "I have to take you down to get to the end and get that wish, and I'm going to see to it that I get it."

"Cortex need wish, too. He have Tiny get it." Tiny replied back. "Tiny make sure he do what he told, so Tiny must win."

**(After Battle)**

Sandman's eyes widened as he looked around at Manslaughter, his dump truck. Parts were starting to fall off and explosions were starting to erupt all around the vehicle.

"No! NO!" Sandman cried. "PENNY!!"

With that, Manslaughter exploded, sending the sand it was carrying scattering all over the construction site.

Because he couldn't move his arms, Tiny could only brace himself as sand splattered all over him. Shaking himself clean of the sand, Tiny looked at the smoldering dump truck in front of him and sighed. He had heard that Sandman was a bad guy, but it really looked like he had a good reason for entering the contest…

Tiny suddenly realized that he was even closer to winning by now. Cortex wanted that weapon and Tiny was determined to get it for him. He turned Axel around in place and looked at the exit of the construction yard.

"…But Cortex lock Tiny in machine. Tiny not able to move, now." Tiny mused as he passed Manslaughter's wreckage. "Is…Is doctor really trustworthy?"

**(Pre-Level Seven)**

Because he had been locked in Axel for so long, Tiny had all but mastered his machine. After scoring two more wins, Tiny drove onto a courtyard of an old castle. Tiny knew by now what was going to happen when he saw that the courtyard was empty.

"Tiny probably fight another boss." Tiny noted. "Tiny wonder who opponent will-"

Tiny didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because the gates on the other side of the courtyard were burst open. A huge vehicle barreled into the courtyard and came to a halt. Tiny jumped in slight surprise, but relaxed when he saw the huge vehicle, identified as some sort of oil tanker, come to a stop.

"Why driver in such big car?" Tiny asked. "That hard to drive around in, you know."

A furry, red head leaned out the driver's window. "Animal win contest!" The creature shouted determinedly. "Animal get wish and everything better!"

"Tiny must win, so he need to defeat you to do it." Tiny replied as he drove Axel straight into battle.

Tiny may have been a little dim-witted, but even he knew to stay away from the oil tanker in case it exploded. After all, he had virtually no armour to protect him in case his opponent blew up…

**(After Battle)**

Animal didn't even get to shout in disbelief. Minion, the huge oil tanker he was driving, exploded in a huge ball of fire, sending debris and pieces of the metal monstrosity flying in all directions.

One piece of Minion flew straight towards Axel. Tiny tried to avoid it, but received a painful blow to the head. As Tiny blacked out, Axel rolled backwards several feet before coming to a stop against the gates of the courtyard.

Tiny's head was held low as he was sent into unconsciousness. He suddenly remembered a conversation he once had with a friend.

"_Oh! Hi, Dingodile! Does Dingodile want to play chess with Tiny?"_

"_**Maybe another time, mate. Ah've just been doin' a lot of thinkin' lately.."**_

"_Dingodile want to tell Tiny about it?"_

"…_**Tiny, 'ave ya ever wondered if yer on the right side?"**_

"_What Dingodile mean?"_

"_**Cortex may 'ave created us, but he's been nothing but mean ta both of us. Honestly, Ah'm not sure if Ah should even stick around much longer…"**_

"_Dingodile join with bandicoots?! But…What Cortex do if he find out?!"_

"_**It's no worse than what he normally does when we fail ta complete a mission ta start with."**_

"………"

Tiny moaned as he opened his eyes and returned to reality. In all honesty, that conversation with Dingodile had been lingering in Tiny's mind for a long time. Tiny always thought that Cortex's word was law and breaking it was extremely bad. Now, the more Tiny thought about it, the more what Dingodile had said made sense. Cortex had even built this machine that was keeping Tiny locked in place. In all honesty, that didn't really sound like the kind of person Tiny wanted to follow. He'd definitely have to put a lot more thought into this before making some kind of decision.

"Maybe Cortex not good leader after all..." Tiny pondered. "Maybe…Maybe Tiny one to deserve wish at end…"

Turning Axel around, Tiny drove out of the courtyard to go to his next battle.

**(Level Eight)**

Axel drove onto a rooftop of a tall skyscraper, where he had been told his final battle would take place. Tiny was looking nervous now, because he had come a long way and risked life and limb to get that wish at the end. However, he was wondering if he should take the wish or just give it to Cortex like he had been told. Telling himself to make his choice soon, Tiny saw that the rooftop was empty much like his boss arena fights.

"This where final boss will fight Tiny." Tiny noted. "Tiny no know what opponent like, but Tiny not hold back now."

Suddenly hearing another car driving onto the scene, Tiny turned his head and saw a large, black version of Sweet Tooth driving onto the roof. The driver was a VERY disturbed individual.

"So you're the last one standing, eh?" Needles Kane, the psychotic clown and Twisted Metal mascot when the contest still belonged to Calypso, laughed. "This'll be easy! Those Roberts siblings will rue the day they banished me from the tournament!"

"…Wait. Clown was banned from contest?" Mona asked. "But…Why is clown still here if he not allowed here?"

"Isn't it obvious? I sneaked in and took the place of the final boss those new owners picked." Needles said with an insane grin. "And now, all that's left for me to do is to wipe you out."

"No. Tiny win fight. Tiny defeat evil clown." Tiny saw determinedly as Dark Tooth approached. "You last opponent, so Tiny make sure he finish you."

**(Ending)**

Carl and Jamie Roberts stood on a large, round platform, awaiting the winner of the contest to enter the 'lair', which looked more like a junkyard with all of the broken car parts scattered around.

Suddenly, the large doors at the other side of the lair opened and in rode a car, the winning vehicle.

Jamie noticed the two-wheeled contraption and smirked. "Isn't that Axel?" She asked her brother.

"Indeed it is." Carl nodded as the vehicle came to a stop. "And that can only mean that the winner is…"

Unfortunately, Tiny was still unable to get out of Axel, so he was forced to start again and wheel up to the platform the siblings were on.

"Tiny Tiger, muscled henchman to Dr. Neo Cortex." Carl greeted. "Congratulations. You've won this year's Twisted Metal contest."

"You needn't worry about the others. They're all fine." Jamie added. "Some of our best mechanics are rebuilding their vehicles so that they can get back home safely."

"You may claim your prize, Tiny." Carl pointed out. "One wish, whatever your heart desires, will be granted."

Tiny nodded. "Tiny serve Cortex for as long as Tiny remember. Tiny no question Cortex and do what he told, because Cortex Tiny's creator. Tiny always think Cortex right and he have good reasons for wanting to take over world." Tiny sighed. "Crash and Coco defeat him many times and Cortex want to get rid of them so badly. He put Tiny in machine here and tell him to get wish for Cortex if he win."

"Judging by his physical abilities, I'm not surprised he sent someone else." Jamie sighed. "So what is your wish? We have the ability to give you whatever you want, you know."

"Yes. Did you want us to give the wish to Cortex?" Carl added.

Tiny narrowed his eyes. "No. Tiny do thinking and he realize that Cortex bad man. Him put Tiny in machine and Tiny no move since contest start. Tiny's friend find better life, and now Tiny want same." He explained. "But Tiny now know that never happen. Tiny know he never get better life, but Tiny promise to make life better for others. Here Tiny's wish…"

Carl and Jamie's eyes widened when Tiny told them what he had wanted. "Tiny…You can't be serious." Jamie said. "You know that-"

"Tiny know what happen. This only way." Tiny cut her off. "Tiny want wish."

The siblings looked at each other and nodded before turning back to the victor. "Granted." They said as one as they lifted their arms into the air. Strange, blue energy flew from the arms of both siblings before flying into the air, igniting in an orb of light. After a couple of seconds, the light exploded in a bright explosion, blinding Tiny.

111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

Axel rolled through the jungle of N. Sanity Island, towards Cortex's castle. Tiny's eyes were narrowed and his mind was set as he approached the front door. He knew for a fact that this was the only way to get what he wanted and that reason alone was what was keeping Tiny going.

Tiny made his way up to the top of the castle, where he saw his master greet him. "Ah, Tiny! You've made it back!" Cortex greeted. "How'd you do in the contest?"

"Tiny win contest." Tiny explained. "He get wish after final fight."

Cortex scanned Tiny over and raised an eyebrow. "If you won, then where's the weapon I told you to get?" He asked.

"Tiny no wish for weapon." Tiny replied. "He wish for something else."

Cortex was fuming. "Tiny, you buffoon! I gave you strict orders to enter that contest for the sole reason of getting me that weapon!" He exclaimed. "You know for a fact that I don't have the parts needed to build it myself! How could you just throw-"

Suddenly, metal wires emerged from a box connected to the platform Tiny was standing on. The wires grabbed Cortex's arms and legs and held him off the ground. The scientist look around, confused.

"Tiny, what's the meaning of this?! This is treason!" Cortex demanded. "Let me go at once!"

"You bad man." Tiny said.

A panel on the box the wires had come out of opened up, revealing a timer counting down. It was now at twenty seconds. Cortex's eyes sprang open.

"Tiny, I don't recall installing any of these things, let along a counter!" Cortex said, his eyes wide with fear. "Shut the timer off this instant!"

"This Tiny's wish. Timer start when Cortex start talking." Tiny said darkly. "Tiny should have left with Dingodile, but he stay behind because he loyal to Cortex. Locking Tiny in machine no way to treat him after years of being loyal."

Cortex thrashed about, trying to break free. "Tiny, stop this!" He pleaded.

"Cortex hurt many people in past." Tiny explained. "Tiny make sure you no hurt anyone else."

"TINY, THIS IS INSANE!! STOP THIS!!" Cortex screamed.

As the timer continued to count down, Tiny smirked. He may never have been able to get a better life, but at least he'd rest easy knowing that he made life better for everyone else…

_***KA-BOOM!***_

To be continued…


	13. Roadkill

Rocky Rodent – Roadkill

11111111111111111111111111111111111111111

**(Intro)**

You could hear the sounds of someone eating from two blocks away.

The Rose Restaurant was always busy, but one usual patron always showed up every week and got his own table just outside the restaurant (so as not to disturb the other customers with the loud sounds of him scarfing down lunch). The purple rodent sitting at the outside table was gobbling down the food on his table like his stomach was a garbage disposal. The most noticeable thing about the rodent was his tall spike of red hair, which stayed frozen in place no matter what he did (using a full can of hairspray on it will do that…).

A blonde girl suddenly emerged from the restaurant, wringing her hands out on her apron. "Enjoying lunch, Rocky?" She asked.

Rocky Rodent stopped eating for a second and smirked. "You know it, Melody!" He nodded. "I sure hope your father never hires another chef, because no one makes this stuff like you do!"

Melody chuckled and took a seat at Rocky's table. "Unfortunately, my father needs all the extra help he can get whenever you show up for lunch." She countered. "Seriously, when are you NOT eating? More importantly, how can you do so without gaining any weight?"

"You remember that other restaurant owner saying that my stomach was worse than a garbage disposal?" Rocky quizzed. "He wasn't that far off."

Melody couldn't help but shake her head. Sure, Rocky was know to eat anything in sight, but he was always able to pay (at least the Rose Restaurant; she wasn't sure how he acted with other spots). She was about to make a reply when a new voice cut in.

"Hey, dollface. Your father's late on his payment again."

Melody's eyes widened at the familiar voice and turned, seeing three rats standing there, all of them about Rocky's size and height.

"Da boss wants ta speak wit' ya." The lead rat said with a twisted smirk.

Rocky, surprisingly, stopped eating and turned to face the rats. "I thought I taught you jerks a lesson last time." He said as he leapt off his chair and straight at the lead rat.

The next thing the rat knew, he was stuck on top of Rocky's spiked hairdo. Pulling his head back, Rocky sent the lead rat flying straight at the other two, bowling all of them over. The rats scrambled to their feet and ran off, shouting death threats at Rocky.

Melody watched them run off and sighed. "Things would be so much better without that mafia around. All of the people in this city are always so paranoid that Don Garcia will strike." She said.

Rocky sat in silence, then shrugged. "I have to admit that things would be a little easier to live with without the mob." He added.

Suddenly, Rocky uncontrollably let out a belch, surprising both him and Melody when a piece of paper floated out of his mouth. Melody quickly snatched it. "Rocky, have you been eating our mail again?!" She asked.

"Sorry, Melody. There are just times where I get a hankering for stamps." Rocky shrugged innocently.

Melody scanned the newly-found letter for a few seconds before her eyes widened. "Rocky! This is an invitation to that Twisted Metal contest you tend to watch on TV!" She pointed out.

"Seriously? The show that gives out a wish to the winner?" Rocky asked.

"Yes! Rocky, this is our big chance!" Melody said. "You can get rid of the mob once and for all!"

Rocky paused, then smirked. "A life without the mob. Sounds good to me." He replied.

**(Pre-Level One)**

Rocky had to search for a little bit for a car, seeing as how Melody's father wouldn't let him anywhere near his. Rocky eventually found a semi-functioning car in a scrap yard (a victim to his recent mad dash down Sunset Freeway) and decided that it was good enough. Despite the fact that he didn't have a license, Rocky was able to get the car going quick enough and made his way to the Twisted Metal dome before the contest started. While there, Rocky was able to size up his competition and realized that none of them would be going down without a fight.

Currently, Rocky was standing in a line in the middle of a packed stadium. In the line were the sixteen contestants, their respective vehicles parked just behind them, several mechanics working on all of them.

Suddenly, a large screen hanging from the ceiling turned on, showing two faces. Seeing that the others were looking up, Rocky glanced upwards and saw the screen.

"Greetings, contestants." The male figure said. "I am Carl Roberts and this is my sister Jamie."

"Thank you for agreeing to participate in this tournament." Jamie added. "You are obviously aware of what is at stake, here."

"Currently, some of our men are fixing up the vehicles you all brought with high-powered weapons." Carl said. "Believe me. You need them to survive here."

"The aim of this contest is to be the last vehicle standing. If your vehicle explodes, you're out of the tournament, but don't worry. We have the technology to get you out of your car safely before it blows." Jamie said.

"However, you don't just have yourselves to worry about." Carl pointed out. "We have also invited three individuals to act as bosses that will fight the winner of a specific round."

"The final winner at the end will be the one that will earn the grand prize: A wish. Whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't involve us giving up our powers, will be granted."

"Good luck, everyone. May the best driver win!" The two siblings said as one.

Rocky turned and walked towards his car (which, due to its beat-up look, was given the name 'Roadkill'), which had just been finished getting worked on. Rocky climbed inside the car, stepping around the spikes he had hot-glued to the hood of the car when he first found it. Starting the car, Rocky could only hope that no one would be able to tell that he had no clue how to drive…

**(Pre-Level Three)**

Although he was off to a bumpy start, Rocky managed to get control of his car in time to score two wins. Afterwards, Rocky was told to go to an old parking lot to await his next battle. When Roadkill drove onto the lot, Rocky saw that it was abandoned, and no other cars were waiting to fight.

"Hey, what gives?" Rocky asked. "I was expecting at least one opponent to be here!"

Suddenly, Rocky heard a strange tune being played. Looking to his right, Rocky saw a white ice cream truck driving onto the scene, the music coming from the speakers on the roof.

Normally, Rocky would be all-too eager to jump at the chance to get ice cream, but seeing as how it was coming towards him, the purple rodent quickly drove out of the way.

As soon as Rocky had driven to the side, the ice cream truck did a spin before coming to a stop right beside the beat-up car, revealing a man with red and yellow hair.

"Hey! You're no ice cream man!" Rocky shouted. "What business do you have driving a poor ice cream truck! You could have killed me!"

"Dude, that's what I was trying to do." The man replied with a sly smirk. "The name's Sypher. I'm the boss of this zone."

"Oh. A boss. I guess that explains why the lot was empty." Rocky shrugged. "But it doesn't look like you'll put up much of a fight. This'll be easy."

"Hey, I didn't steal Duck's invitation to get mocked, pal." Sypher said as he drove ahead a bit and turned around to face Rocky. "I'm going to beat you and win this thing to get that wish!"

Rocky wasn't intimidated at the least by Sypher's outburst. He had dealt with an entire mafia all by himself one time. He wasn't going to let a two-bit thief with a weird hair colour get the better of him this early in the game.

**(After Battle)**

Rocky had just dealt the final blow. An explosion erupted from somewhere in the engine, making the hood of Sweet Tooth, Syper's ice cream truck, fly off and land several feet away.

"N-No! This can't be!!" Sypher cried in disbelief as his truck started to break down. "How could I lose?!"

That was all Sypher could get out before Sweet Tooth exploded in a ball of fire. Having parked Roadkill aside, Rocky sat in his car and sighed, shaking his head.

"I can't believe I just destroyed an ice cream truck. I thought those things were my friends..." Rocky mused as he drove Roadkill off the lot.

**(Pre-Level Five)**

Rocky was getting better at his fights, scoring two more wins much faster than his first two. After his latest win, Rocky drove Roadkill onto a construction yard as instructed to await his next battle. Much like his earlier fight with Sypher, Rocky found the yard to be empty.

"My opponent's a no-show here as well." Rocky noted. "I wonder if that means there's another boss hanging around…"

Hearing an engine revving up, Rocky found himself looking upwards, towards a dirt ramp leading into the 'arena'. A large vehicle shot off the ramp and soared overtop of Roadkill before landing on the ground. When Rocky took a better look, it was a dump truck.

"Man. With driving like that, you'd be one heck of a driver on Sunset Freeway." Rocky pointed out. "I'm guessing that you're the boss of this area?"

"Yes." The brown-haired man driving the dump truck nodded. "My name's Flint Marko, but most people know me as 'Sandman'."

"I think I've heard of you. I haven't heard many good things about you." Rocky announced. "You didn't happen to steal your invitation, did you?"

"I entered this legitimately, but I need the wish." Sandman replied, revving up his vehicle. "I have to take you down to get to the end and get that wish, and I'm going to see to it that I get it."

"Hey, my city needs the wish as much as you do, man." Rocky countered as he drove into battle. "It's going to take a lot more than a dump truck to stop me!"

**(After Battle)**

Sandman's eyes widened as he looked around at Manslaughter, his dump truck. Parts were starting to fall off and explosions were starting to erupt all around the vehicle.

"No! NO!" Sandman cried. "PENNY!!"

With that, Manslaughter exploded, sending the sand it was carrying scattering all over the construction site.

Sand splattered across the front of Roadkill and got up in between the spikes lacing the hood and roof of the beat-up car. After realizing how hard it would be to clean the sand out of his car, Rocky suddenly remembered what Sandman said before his vehicle went up in flames. He realized that Sandman probably had a pretty good reason for entering despite being labeled as a villain.

Rocky decided to think about it later, as he knew that he was getting closer to winning the wish at the end. Starting up Roadkill, Rocky looked at the exit to the yard.

"I'm still in the running with an old jalopy like this." Rocky chuckled as he drove past the burning wreckage of Manslaughter. "I bet no one was expecting that to happen."

**(Pre-Level Seven)**

Rocky's skills behind the wheel were improving more and more. Winning two more rounds, Rocky was told to go to an old castle, where he drove Roadkill onto the courtyard. Looking around the spacious area, he saw that he was again alone.

"Another boss fight, no doubt." Rocky mused. "If this guy's anything like the last two, then-"

Rocky didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because the gates on the other side of the courtyard were burst open. A huge vehicle barreled into the courtyard and came to a halt. Rocky jumped in slight surprise, but relaxed when he saw the huge vehicle, identified as some sort of oil tanker, come to a stop.

"An oil tanker? Déjà vu." Rocky said. "I sure hope your doesn't spout flames from the top like the last one I came upon."

A furry, red head leaned out the driver's window. "Animal win contest!" The creature shouted determinedly. "Animal get wish and everything better!"

"Hate to disappoint you, but I'm not backing down now." Rocky countered as he drove Roadkill towards the oil tanker.

Rocky may have been reckless, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that the oil tanker would probably explode, so Rocky was constantly wondering how he would get out of the way in time before it went up in flames.

**(After Battle)**

Animal didn't even get to shout in disbelief. Minion, the huge oil tanker he was driving, exploded in a huge ball of fire, sending debris and pieces of the metal monstrosity flying in all directions.

One piece of Minion flew straight towards Roadkill. The piece of debris hit the side of the beat-up car, rattling and throwing Rocky around inside. The purple rodent hit his head on something (he wasn't sure what) and blacked out almost instantly.

Rocky was unconscious, somehow sitting upside down in his seat (he would later remind himself to always wear seat belts). However, while he was out like a light, his mind was still flooded with thoughts.

"_**Oh! Rocky! How goes the search for my daughter?"**_

"_Not good, mac. I still haven't found any trace of her despite all the leads I've been getting."_

"…_**Blech! Rocky, you stink of chili! Where have you been?"**_

"_Long story. Let's just say I've been wandering the sewers beneath the chili factory for a while."_

"…_**I'm not even going to ask. I just hope that you can find Melody before Garcia kills her."**_

"_Don't worry about her. Garcia will keep her alive because he knows she's the only leverage he has over you."_

"_**Yes. I suppose you're right. But it still doesn't change the fact that I'm worried sick about her."**_

"_Hey, I've received another lead. Apparently, Melody may be at the old clock tower. I'm gonna go check things out."_

"_**Okay. Be careful, Rocky. There's a reason that tower's been condemned, you know."**_

Rocky groaned as he got back into a sitting position. He remembered that little adventure of his. He had literally gone all over the city searching for Melody, and the only thing he could think of by the time he was reaching the end of his journey was how much the mob had put him through. That mob boss Don Garcia had sent a small army of creatures, including a huge, angry bat and a bulldog with a flamethrower, to stop the purple rodent from reaching the end of his quest. Even years after the adventure ended Rocky found that the mob still roamed the streets of his city.

"That mob's been a major pain to me since the start." Rocky shook his head. "If I can win, maybe I'll get the chance to turn things around on them."

Turning Roadkill around, Rocky left the courtyard to go onto his next battle.

**(Level Eight)**

Only when Rocky actually drove onto the roof of the giant skyscraper did he realize that he had made the final fight of the contest. He was actually one fight away from the much-coveted wish at the end. Rocky knew that this would be where he would be fighting the final boss, but wasn't sure what to expect from his opponent. Looking around the rooftop, Rocky saw that he was once again alone.

"So this is where the final boss is going to fight me." Rocky mused. "All I can say is that I hope I don't fall off this place..."

Suddenly hearing another car driving onto the scene, Rocky turned his head and saw a large, black version of Sweet Tooth driving onto the roof. The driver was a VERY disturbed individual.

"So you're the last one standing, eh?" Needles Kane, the psychotic clown and Twisted Metal mascot when the contest still belonged to Calypso, laughed. "This'll be easy! Those Roberts siblings will rue the day they banished me from the tournament!"

"Ah, yes. I remember you from the previous games I always watched." Rocky nodded. "But if you were banned, then why are you even here?"

"Isn't it obvious? I sneaked in and took the place of the final boss those new owners picked." Needles said with an insane grin. "And now, all that's left for me to do is to wipe you out."

"Not gonna happen, pal." Rocky said with a grin as he gripped the wheel of Roadkill. "I'm come this far, so I'm definitely not going to stop here!"

**(Ending)**

Carl and Jamie Roberts stood on a large, round platform, awaiting the winner of the contest to enter the 'lair', which looked more like a junkyard with all of the broken car parts scattered around.

Suddenly, the large doors at the other side of the lair opened and in rode a car, the winning vehicle.

Jamie noticed the spikes attached to the beat-up car and smirked. "Isn't that Roadkill?" She asked her brother.

"Indeed it is." Carl nodded as the vehicle came to a stop. "And that can only mean that the winner is…"

Stopping his car, Rocky got out and shut the door behind him, causing the door to fall off its hinges. Rocky looked down at the door, scratched his head, shrugged and walked up to the platform to join the Roberts siblings.

"Rocky Rodent, the only fleet-footed hero with a bottomless stomach." Carl greeted. "Congratulations. You've won this year's Twisted Metal contest."

"You needn't worry about the others. They're all fine." Jamie added. "Some of our best mechanics are rebuilding their vehicles so that they can get back home safely."

"You may claim your prize, Rocky." Carl pointed out. "One wish, whatever your heart desires, will be granted."

Rocky looked back and forth between the two as he talked. "I've been a renegade for as long as I can remember, but I still love the city I live in just like every other average citizen." Rocky explained. "However, that was before the Garcia Mafia came into power. They started doing things to the city and started blackmailing the businesses. In fact, the mob kidnapped the daughter of a restaurant owner for not paying up in time."

"We've dealt with mobs before, so we know how corrupt they can be." Jamie sighed. "So what is your wish? We have the ability to give you whatever you want, you know."

"Yes. Did you want us to give you the ability to take out the mob?" Carl added.

"I wish it could be that simple, but if I took out the mob now, the damage would still be done. The mob's been doing things to the city for a long time, and it's definitely showing. The city's been living in fear and it seems that the city's starting to collapse in on itself." Rocky explained. "However, if I had gotten rid of them way earlier, like just after I fought them off the first time, maybe the city would be in better shape. Officers, I wish the Garcia Mob would have been wiped out years ago."

The siblings looked at each other and nodded before turning back to the victor. "Granted." They said as one as they lifted their arms into the air. Strange, blue energy flew from the arms of both siblings before flying into the air, igniting in an orb of light. After a couple of seconds, the light exploded in a bright explosion, blinding Rocky.

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Roadkill drove through the strangely-peaceful streets of Rocky's home city. Rocky was able to drive all the way across the city without the sound of gunfire, so he assumed that this meant that his wish had come true. Some of the buildings that the mob had demolished to build structures of their own were standing again and the city looked no worse for wear.

"I can't wait to see what types of things are changed!" Rocky said. "Without the mob, the city's probably way better off!"

Rocky pulled up to the Rose Restaurant and got out of his car, shutting the door behind him (once again making the door fall off its hinges). Ignoring the door again, Rocky entered the restaurant to see what had happened while he was gone.

"Anyone home?" Rocky asked. "I'm back from Twisted Metal."

Melody's father emerged from the back. "Oh! I take it you won the contest, Rocky?" He asked. "Buildings just started to re-appear; buildings I just never thought I'd see again! It's almost as if the mob didn't even touch them!"

Rocky grinned. "I wished for the mob to be wiped out after I took them down the first time." He replied. "Looks like everything's working out okay with Garcia out of the picture."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Rocky!"

The two turned and saw Melody rushing into the restaurant, breathing heavily.

"Melody! What in the world's the matter?" Melody's father asked.

"The mob's gone, but at the same time is still roaming the streets!" Melody explained.

"Wait. What?" Rocky asked.

"Without someone to work for, in this case Don Garcia, the rats of the mob are now just a bunch of troublemaking punks!" Melody explained. "They're covered most of the city in graffiti!"

"Oh, my! Looks like your job at getting rid of the mob isn't quite over yet, Rocky." Melody's father explained.

Rocky smirked and shrugged. "They're everyday punks now. It shouldn't be too hard to take care of them." He replied as he walked towards the door. "This shouldn't take too long."

Once he was outside, Rocky ran off down the road at speeds that would make Sonic the Hedgehog jealous. His tongue flapping in the wind as he ran, Rocky could hardly wait to get started. After all, having a city with nothing to fight would probably get pretty boring after a while…

To be continued…


	14. Hammerhead

Brian Battler – Hammerhead

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**(Intro)**

Once again, it was almost time for the annual King of Fighters tournament to start. Some of the best fighters in the city of Southtown were hoping to get the much-coveted invitation to the tournament, showing that they were recognized and welcomed to fight some of the best fighters in the world. While some fighters managed to make it into the tournament and do well, most of the other hopefuls weren't so lucky and were forced to wait another year.

For one particular team, they had been waiting for longer than ten years to get the invitations they had been wanting. After their loss in the first King of Fighters tournament back in 1994, the team hadn't even been approached for another chance.

While the team had gotten used to the constant rejection, there was no doubt that that they were still wanting to have the second chance they thought they deserved.

A tall man wearing a blue football jersey walked onto a basketball court, where he saw a couple of dark-skinned men shooting hoops. The taller of the two, clearly the better basketball player, was easily scoring points on his friend.

The shorter of the two (even if it wasn't by that much) turned and saw the third man come in. "Hey, Brian." He greeted. "What's up?"

The football player shook his head as he approached his friends, showing that all three of them were at least six feet tall. "Nothing new, I'm afraid." Brian Battler shook his head. "I don't suppose that you guys got a 'you-know-what' in the mail?"

"You kidding? It's been ten years and we haven't even seen an invitation." Lucky Glauber, the basketball player, sighed. "I wouldn't be surprised if we never see another invitation to KOF come our way."

"It sucks, I know." Heavy D!, the second man (whom looked like a boxer) added. "But that's just the way things are probably going to happen for us."

"I still say we should approach the officials and audition." Brian pointed out.

"Unless those creeps got replaced with nicer guys, I doubt we'd have better luck than last time." Lucky rolled his eyes.

"Man. What I wouldn't give to set foot in the arena again." Brian shook his head. "I just wish we'd get another chance to shine."

Suddenly, a piece of paper wafted into view, falling from the sky. It landed on the ground by Brian's feet. The three friends looked at where the paper had come from and saw a silhouette vanishing from a nearby rooftop.

"You think that guy dropped this thing on purpose?" Brian asked as he picked the paper up. However, once he saw what he was holding, his eyes widened.

"What is it, Brian?" D! asked.

"It's an invitation to Twisted Metal!" Brian said. "You know those contests I usually watch?"

"Oh! The tournament of vehicular destruction that grants the winner a wish!" Lucky nodded. "It's an invite?!"

"You bet!" Brian nodded. "And…It's even addressed to me!"

"No way! This could be our chance to get back in the game!" D! exclaimed. "You entering, man?"

"You bet, D!" Brian nodded. "And since I'm already familiar with the contest, I'll have a head start!"

The USA Sports Team cheered and high-fived each other.

**(Pre-Level One)**

Brian started his search for a vehicle, but had a hard time trying to find something capable of holding its own in a massive game of vehicular destruction. However, after visiting a monster truck rally, Brian saw that an old truck was going to be retired from the event and was set to be destroyed. Brian quickly took the machine off their hands and, after a few minor repairs, was on his way to the Twisted Metal dome. After arriving, Brian saw the rest of the contestants and realized that, aside from Tiny and Sergei, he was the biggest player of the bunch.

Currently, Brian was standing in a line in the middle of a packed stadium. In the line were the sixteen contestants, their respective vehicles parked just behind them, several mechanics working on all of them.

Suddenly, a large screen hanging from the ceiling turned on, showing two faces. Brian looked up and shielded his eyes using his arm to block the glare from the lights.

"Greetings, contestants." The male figure said. "I am Carl Roberts and this is my sister Jamie."

"Thank you for agreeing to participate in this tournament." Jamie added. "You are obviously aware of what is at stake, here."

"Currently, some of our men are fixing up the vehicles you all brought with high-powered weapons." Carl said. "Believe me. You need them to survive here."

"The aim of this contest is to be the last vehicle standing. If your vehicle explodes, you're out of the tournament, but don't worry. We have the technology to get you out of your car safely before it blows." Jamie said.

"However, you don't just have yourselves to worry about." Carl pointed out. "We have also invited three individuals to act as bosses that will fight the winner of a specific round."

"The final winner at the end will be the one that will earn the grand prize: A wish. Whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't involve us giving up our powers, will be granted."

"Good luck, everyone. May the best driver win!" The two siblings said as one.

Brian turned and walked towards his car (which had been given the nickname of 'Hammerhead'), which had just been finished getting worked on. Despite it's immense size, Brian had no trouble grabbing hold of the ladder and pulling himself into the truck. Twisting the ignition key on the truck, Brian grinned as the engine of the huge vehicle came to life.

**(Pre-Level Three)**

Hammerhead easily demolished the competition of the first couple of rounds, after which Brian was told to go to an old parking lot for his next match. Brian didn't give any questions and drove to his destination, but found the lot to be empty when he arrived.

"Wait. There's no one here." Brian noticed. "Am I in the right spot?"

Suddenly, Brian heard a strange tune being played. Looking to his right, Brian saw a white ice cream truck driving onto the scene, the music coming from the speakers on the roof.

Brian lifted an eyebrow as he calmly drove out of the way. This guy apparently wasn't that bright.

As soon as Brian had driven to the side, the ice cream truck did a spin before coming to a stop right beside the beat-up car, revealing a man with red and yellow hair.

"You DO realize that my vehicle's twice the size of yours, right?" Brian asked. "You would have done little damage other than a big dent in my truck."

"Dude, that's what I was trying to do." The man replied with a sly smirk. "The name's Sypher. I'm the boss of this zone."

"Oh. A boss. I guess that explains why the lot was empty." Brian shrugged. "This'll be over in a flash."

"Hey, I didn't steal Duck's invitation to get mocked, pal." Sypher said as he drove ahead a bit and turned around to face Brian. "I'm going to beat you and win this thing to get that wish!"

There was no way Brian would be intimidated by a boss driving a vehicle half the size of his. Revving up Hammerhead, Brian drove straight at the ice cream truck, preparing to smash it flat if give the chance.

**(After Battle)**

Brian had just dealt the final blow. An explosion erupted from somewhere in the engine, making the hood of Sweet Tooth, Syper's ice cream truck, fly off and land several feet away.

"N-No! This can't be!!" Sypher cried in disbelief as his truck started to break down. "How could I lose?!"

That was all Sypher could get out before Sweet Tooth exploded in a ball of fire. Brian sat in the compartment of Hammerhead, arms folded with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"One boss down, possibly more to go." Brian said as he drove off the scene, leaving the wreckage of Sweet Tooth.

**(Pre-Level Five)**

Brian had to admit that the competition was starting to get fierce, but they did little to stop his monster truck from winning two more rounds. After winning the matches, Brian was instructed to drive to a construction yard for his next bout. When Hammerhead drove onto the scene, Brian saw that the arena was empty, like the parking lot from earlier.

"Another empty arena, and this is definitely the place." Brian said, looking around. "My guess is that there's another boss hanging around somewhere."

Hearing an engine revving up, Brian found himself looking upwards, towards a dirt ramp leading into the 'arena'. A large vehicle shot off the ramp and soared overtop of Hammerhead before landing on the ground. When Brian took a better look, it was a dump truck.

"You cleared my truck easily, man. You should consider a career." Brian said with a smirk. "You're the boss, right?"

"Yes." The brown-haired man driving the dump truck nodded. "My name's Flint Marko, but most people know me as 'Sandman'."

"Wait. Sandman? I've heard of you." Brian pointed out. "Did you steal your invitation like that Sypher guy?"

"I entered this legitimately, but I need the wish." Sandman replied, revving up his vehicle. "I have to take you down to get to the end and get that wish, and I'm going to see to it that I get it."

"Me and my homies need the wish as well, man." Brian replied with a smirk. "It's I've waited longer than a decade for this chance! I'm not blowing it now!"

**(After Battle)**

Sandman's eyes widened as he looked around at Manslaughter, his dump truck. Parts were starting to fall off and explosions were starting to erupt all around the vehicle.

"No! NO!" Sandman cried. "PENNY!!"

With that, Manslaughter exploded, sending the sand it was carrying scattering all over the construction site.

Sand splattered across the tires of Hammerhead, but did little to the actual truck part. Once the explosion died down, Brian fixed his gaze on the wreckage of Manslaughter. Sandman had apparently entered with noble thoughts in mind. He fell kinda guilty for the fact that his intended wish was for something as small as invitations.

Brian decided that there was nothing he could do about it now, but secretly planned that, if he got his wish and his team did well, he'd give some of the prize money to Sandman.

"Sounds like he had a good reason." Brian sighed as he drove off the lot. "He could probably use the extra cash."

**(Pre-Level Seven)**

Brian's fights were getting harder and harder to win, because the last two matches had gotten pretty close. However, he still managed to win them, so when the time came, Hammerhead drove onto the courtyard of an old castle, as Brian had been instructed. Like the previous two boss arenas, this one was empty.

"Looks like I'm in for another fight with a boss." Rocky mused. "Things are getting harder, so I expect that this next guy will-"

Brian didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because the gates on the other side of the courtyard were burst open. A huge vehicle barreled into the courtyard and came to a halt. Brian jumped in slight surprise, but relaxed when he saw the huge vehicle, identified as some sort of oil tanker, come to a stop.

"Wait. An oil tanker in a game like this?" Rocky said. "What kind of lunatic are you?!"

A furry, red head leaned out the driver's window. "Animal win contest!" The creature shouted determinedly. "Animal get wish and everything better!"

"I knew I shouldn't have asked that question." Brian sighed as he drove towards the tanker.

Brian knew that he had to steer clear of his opponent while doing damage. Was his vehicle one of the biggest in the contest? Yes. Was his vehicle susceptible to exploding in a ball of fire? Yes. Would the tanker create a massive explosion if damaged enough? DEFINATELY.

**(After Battle)**

Animal didn't even get to shout in disbelief. Minion, the huge oil tanker he was driving, exploded in a huge ball of fire, sending debris and pieces of the metal monstrosity flying in all directions.

One piece of Minion flew straight towards Hammerhead. The piece of debris struck the front tires of the monster truck, knocking Hammerhead backwards and throwing Brian around in the compartment. By the time Hammerhead stopped rolling, Brian had hit his head and had blacked out.

Brian sat in the driver's seat of Hammerhead, his head resting on the wheel. As Brian lay there, unconscious, a familiar memory flooded his mind, one that he had been living for the last ten years.

"_Any mail, Lucky?"_

"_**Nothing major, Brian. We still haven't gotten an invitation to KOF."**_

"_Man! When are those officials going to see the potential we have?!"_

"_**Well, we didn't exactly do ourselves proud in '94. We lost in the first round."**_

"_D!, we lost by a time out! And Kyo's team ended up winning the tournament!"_

"_**I know it seems unfair, but our team just didn't get the fanbase that the others did."**_

"_That's so uncool. How can we not have the fanbase when we can easily mop the floor with half the people that get invited these days?"_

"_**I hear you, Brian. I'd love to beat the crap out of that Crimson creep."**_

"_You and me both, buddy. Are we seriously the only ones that see that he's up to no good?"_

Brian moaned as he slowly pulled himself back into consciousness. It had been this way for years. The officials wouldn't allow the USA Sports Team back into the tournament simply because they weren't popular. Brian saw the talent that some of the new fighters had, and he could swear that he, Lucky and D! could utterly defeat them if given the chance. But now, after years of waiting for the second chance to come along, it comes in the form of Twisted Metal. Brian knew that he'd never get a chance like this again and he was getting extremely close to winning.

"I'm almost done. Just a little more and I'll have that wish." Brian said. "It's been way too long since me and the guys have been in the arena. It's time I changed that."

Leaving the smoldering wreckage of Minion behind, Brian turned and drove off the courtyard.

**(Level Eight)**

Brian couldn't believe this was happening. He had managed to score one more win, then was told that he had made the finals. Driving Hammerhead onto the rooftop of a skyscraper, Brian knew that this would be where he'd be fighting the final boss of the contest. Like the previous boss arenas, the rooftop was empty.

"The final battle is about to occur." Brian said. "I actually have a one-in-two chance at winning the entire contest."

Suddenly hearing another car driving onto the scene, Brian turned his head and saw a large, black version of Sweet Tooth driving onto the roof. The driver was a VERY disturbed individual.

"So you're the last one standing, eh?" Needles Kane, the psychotic clown and Twisted Metal mascot when the contest still belonged to Calypso, laughed. "This'll be easy! Those Roberts siblings will rue the day they banished me from the tournament!"

"Oh, yeah. I know you. I was wondering where you got to." Brian replied. "But if you were banned, then why are you even here?"

"Isn't it obvious? I sneaked in and took the place of the final boss those new owners picked." Needles said with an insane grin. "And now, all that's left for me to do is to wipe you out."

"The wish is mine, pal." Brian said as he drove towards Dark Tooth. "I've come too far to lose now! Eat this, putz!"

**(Ending)**

Carl and Jamie Roberts stood on a large, round platform, awaiting the winner of the contest to enter the 'lair', which looked more like a junkyard with all of the broken car parts scattered around.

Suddenly, the large doors at the other side of the lair opened and in rode a car, the winning vehicle.

Jamie noticed the huge monster truck and smirked. "Isn't that Hammerhead?" She asked her brother.

"Indeed it is." Carl nodded as the vehicle came to a stop. "And that can only mean that the winner is…"

Stopping his truck, Brian opened the door and stepped out. However, he seemed to have forgotten that he was in a monster truck and fell ten feet down, landing flat on his face. Brian quickly got up and raced up to the platform to join the Roberts' siblings, hoping that he didn't make himself look like too much of a tool.

"Brian Battler, all-star quarterback that packs one heck of a punch." Carl greeted. "Congratulations. You've won this year's Twisted Metal contest."

"You needn't worry about the others. They're all fine." Jamie added. "Some of our best mechanics are rebuilding their vehicles so that they can get back home safely."

"You may claim your prize, Brian." Carl pointed out. "One wish, whatever your heart desires, will be granted."

Brian nodded as he spoke. "My friends and I were once part of the biggest annual tournament around, the King of Fighters. We were invited for the first year, and we actually got close to beating the eventual winners before we were timed out." He explained. "Unfortunately, we didn't receive as big of a fanbase as the tournament officials would have liked and we haven't been invited back since. To this day, I still say we were the most unique team to ever grace the tournament."

"We've seen your team in action, Brian. We're inclined to agree with you." Jamie sighed. "So what is your wish? We have the ability to give you whatever you want, you know."

"Yes. Did you want us to give you and your friends better fighting ability?" Carl added.

"No. That was my wish at first, but about midway through the contest, I saw something that made me change my mind." Brian explained. "The second boss, Sandman, has an incredibly sick daughter. I did a little research and found that her disease needs a vast amount of money to be treated. Seeing Sandman enter the contest for such a good reason made been feel guilty about having such a selfish wish. So I'm going to use my wish for something much more important than some tournament invites. Officers, I wish that Penny Marko would be cured from her disease."

This took the siblings by complete surprise, but in a very pleasant way. They looked at each other and nodded before turning back to the victor, smiling. "Granted." They said as one as they lifted their arms into the air. Strange, blue energy flew from the arms of both siblings before flying into the air, igniting in an orb of light. After a couple of seconds, the light exploded in a bright explosion, blinding Brian.

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The sun was shining bright in Southtown. The KOF tournament had made a quick stop there for the current fight and a large crowd was forming around the arena.

Ralf Jones crashed onto the pavement with a loud thud and a cry of pain. Ralf ceased movement, showing that he was unconscious. A familiar football player stood over the downed form of the soldier triumphantly.

"We have us a winner!" The referee announced. "The USA Sports Team!"

Brian watched as Lucky and D! swarmed him to congratulate their friend for helping them win. Brian thanked them and looked into the crowd. He saw Sandman standing in front of his young, extremely happy daughter. They were both cheering wildly for the team of friends.

Penny Marko had made a full recovery almost instantly. To this day, Sandman still couldn't believe that someone would use their wish to help his daughter, someone the winner didn't even know. Because of Brian helping his daughter, Sandman had become a close friend of the Sports Team.

In addition, Penny had become a huge fan of Brian and his friends. After finding out about their predicament, Penny had started a petition to get the USA Sports Team back in the action. After seeing the Brian had made such a selfless move for such a sick girl, people were rapidly signing the petition. By the time Penny showed the petition to the KOF officials, they saw that she had collected a record amount of signatures. This proved to be too much pressure for the officials and they ended up letting the Sports Team back into the tournament.

True to his word, Brian and his friends proved to be much more skillful than a lot of the newer faces to the tournament. Even a few of the veterans fell to returned team, which had taken everyone by surprise. The USA Sports Team had already been back in the game for a couple of years, making it a good ways into the tournament each time. Currently, Brian had just scored his team's round three victory for the current year's tournament.

"I hope you guys still aren't mad at me for not wishing for invitations." Brian joked.

"Dude, you saved the kid's life and she in turn got us back into the game single-handedly." D! replied with a smirk. "There ain't nothing to be mad about."

"So who's our next opponents?" Brian asked as the referee came over.

"The Psycho Soldiers Team." The referee replied. "I seem to recall that you guys beat them last year as well."

"Yeah. They'll be ready for round two against us." Lucky said with a smirk. "Bring 'em on!"

Brian gave a smirk as he returned his gaze to the cheering Markos. He still couldn't believe that wishing for something so simple would bring about such change.

To be continued…


	15. Shadow

Demitri Maximov – Shadow

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**(Intro)**

Thunder rumbled in another country, but it surprisingly wasn't raining outside. The lightning lit up a secluded clifftop and the large castle perched atop it. The castle looked old, but in remarkable condition, as if the owner didn't let anything happen to it.

Inside the castle, it was all dark. No lights were turned on inside, but there was still one particular resident to the building. Sitting alone in the main hall, a man sat on a throne, fingering an envelope. The man looked both bored and curious at the same time. He had honestly never been one to receive any mail, but this letter had come out of the blue, literally taking him by surprise.

Lightning struck again, lighting up the man's features, revealing him to be tall, well-dressed and the owner of a haircut that spiked backwards. Demitri Maximov looked down at the envelope he had gotten, wondering what was inside it.

"I may as well see what this letter is about." Demitri said to himself as he ripped open the envelope with his fingernails and took the letter out from inside. The castle master looked bored as he started to read the letter, but suddenly started to look more and more interested the more he read.

"Wait a minute. A contest where the winner gets a wish?" Demitri asked. "This sounds like something out of those childish stories I keep hearing about."

Demitri looked over the letter and envelope. It had a legitimate address, full signatures and a realistic entrance form. No matter how hard Demitri looked over everything, nothing looked fake.

"So this is for real. I could enter this and have whatever I want when I win." Demitri said. "But what would be the best thing for me to wish for. I have almost everything I could want…"

A thought suddenly went through Demitri's head. He suddenly remembered a particular green-haired succubus that he had been intending on making his own. Unfortunately, she hated his guts and wanted nothing to do with him. But this contest seemed to provide the answer needed to make his desires come true.

A twisted smirk floated across Demitri's face, revealing a set of fangs. Standing up, Demitri pocketed the letter.

"I may not get another chance like this again." Demitri said. "If I can make Morrigan willingly come to me, then that'll make my job a lot easier."

With that, Demitri turned into a bat and started flapping his wings. The vampire, now in his much smaller form, easily flew through a broken window and into the night to start his trek to the contest address.

Lightning and thunder continued to strike, seemingly following the vampire as he flew away from his castle. No matter what happened in the contest, no good would come of it…

**(Pre-Level One)**

It had taken Demitri a fair bit to find something capable of a game of vehicular competition, as he had never had the need to drive anywhere. However, he managed to find a hearse near a graveyard and decided that it would probably be the best he could come up with. After that, it was just a short trip to the Twisted Metal dome, where he met up with the rest of his competition. It would be a hard battle, but Demitri had seen worse.

Currently, Demitri was standing in a line in the middle of a packed stadium. In the line were the sixteen contestants, their respective vehicles parked just behind them, several mechanics working on all of them.

Suddenly, a large screen hanging from the ceiling turned on, showing two faces. Demitri was suddenly thankful that the bright lights weren't sunlight or else he'd be dead by now.

"Greetings, contestants." The male figure said. "I am Carl Roberts and this is my sister Jamie."

"Thank you for agreeing to participate in this tournament." Jamie added. "You are obviously aware of what is at stake, here."

"Currently, some of our men are fixing up the vehicles you all brought with high-powered weapons." Carl said. "Believe me. You need them to survive here."

"The aim of this contest is to be the last vehicle standing. If your vehicle explodes, you're out of the tournament, but don't worry. We have the technology to get you out of your car safely before it blows." Jamie said.

"However, you don't just have yourselves to worry about." Carl pointed out. "We have also invited three individuals to act as bosses that will fight the winner of a specific round."

"The final winner at the end will be the one that will earn the grand prize: A wish. Whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't involve us giving up our powers, will be granted."

"Good luck, everyone. May the best driver win!" The two siblings said as one.

Demitri turned and walked towards his car (which he had given the nickname of 'Shadow'), which had just been finished getting worked on. Demitri opened the door and got into the driver's seat stylishly. Once he was inside, Demitri started the car and prepared to start the competition.

**(Pre-Level Three)**

No one really took a hearse such as Demitri's seriously at first, so Shadow was easily able to score the first two wins of the contest. After the second victory, Demitri was told to go to an old parking lot for his next fight. However, when the vampire made his entrance, the lot was abandoned.

"Doesn't look like there's anyone here yet." Demitri mused. "Something tells me that I'm in for a surprise…"

Suddenly, Demitri heard a strange tune being played. Looking to his right, Demitri saw a white ice cream truck driving onto the scene, the music coming from the speakers on the roof.

Demitri grunted as he drove his hearse out of the way, allowing the mysterious ice cream truck to pass him by.

As soon as Demitri had driven to the side, the ice cream truck did a spin before coming to a stop right beside the hearse, revealing a man with red and yellow hair.

"You simply must have a death wish by angering me." Demitri said. "You could have totaled my car and I wouldn't exactly have liked that."

"Dude, that's what I was trying to do." The man replied with a sly smirk. "The name's Sypher. I'm the boss of this zone."

"A boss, are you? I guess the lot had to be empty for a reason." Demitri said. "You don't look like you'll be much of a problem, though."

"Hey, I didn't steal Duck's invitation to get mocked, pal." Sypher said as he drove ahead a bit and turned around to face Demitri. "I'm going to beat you and win this thing to get that wish!"

Demitri wasn't intimidated by Sypher, but nevertheless wasn't one to back down from a challenge. He turned his hearse around and drove straight towards the ice cream truck. In trying to destroy his car, Sypher had just made Demitri's hit list. He would make sure that Sypher would pay for his stupidity.

**(After Battle)**

Demitri had just dealt the final blow. An explosion erupted from somewhere in the engine, making the hood of Sweet Tooth, Syper's ice cream truck, fly off and land several feet away.

"N-No! This can't be!!" Sypher cried in disbelief as his truck started to break down. "How could I lose?!"

That was all Sypher could get out before Sweet Tooth exploded in a ball of fire. Watching the explosion from afar, Demitri folded his arms and smirked.

"He should have known better." Demitri said as he drove off the scene to go to his next battle.

**(Pre-Level Five)**

The competition was started to get rougher, but it didn't stop Demitri from winning the next two fights presented to him. After his fourth victory, Demitri was instructed to go to an old construction yard. When he arrived, the vampire saw that the yard was empty, much like the parking lot from earlier.

"Looks like there's another boss around here somewhere." Demitri noted suspiciously. "If my last boss fight was any indication, he should be around here somewhere.."

Hearing an engine revving up, Demitri found himself looking upwards, towards a dirt ramp leading into the 'arena'. A large vehicle shot off the ramp and soared overtop of Shadow before landing on the ground. When Demitri took a better look, it was a dump truck.

"Impressive driving ability, but it won't help you here." Brian said with a smirk. "I don't know who you are, but I assume you're a boss."

"Yes." The brown-haired man driving the dump truck nodded. "My name's Flint Marko, but most people know me as 'Sandman'."

"Can't say I'm familiar with the name, but you look kind of shifty." Demitri shrugged. "I assume you probably stole your invitation like that Sypher guy."

"I entered this legitimately, but I need the wish." Sandman replied, revving up his vehicle. "I have to take you down to get to the end and get that wish, and I'm going to see to it that I get it."

"I admire your determination, but I want the wish too." Demitri replied casually. "Don't think I'm going to stand aside and let you take the wish, because I'm not."

**(After Battle)**

Sandman's eyes widened as he looked around at Manslaughter, his dump truck. Parts were starting to fall off and explosions were starting to erupt all around the vehicle.

"No! NO!" Sandman cried. "PENNY!!"

With that, Manslaughter exploded, sending the sand it was carrying scattering all over the construction site.

Sand splattered over the windshield of Shadow, but it was nothing the wipers couldn't handle. Once he was able to see clearly again, Demitri looked at the wreckage of the dump truck with an emotionless glare. It sounded like the man had a good reason for entering, but that was just the way the contest went. Only one of the entrants would get the wish, and Demitri was just more determined than his opponent.

Knowing that he had won his second boss fight, Demitri started his car again and drove past the wreckage of Manslaughter.

"I'm doing better than anticipated." Demitri said as he drove away from the arena. "I guess I just want the wish more than the others."

**(Pre-Level Seven)**

The fights were getting harder. Even a confident vampire like Demitri had to admit that. However, he managed to win two more rounds, and when he did, he was told to go to a castle courtyard. Somehow knowing what was coming, Demitri departed for his destination. When Demitri drove Shadow onto the courtyard, the place was empty.

"This is definitely another boss arena." Demitri said to himself. "The biggest question is where my opponent will-"

Demitri didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because the gates on the other side of the courtyard were burst open. A huge vehicle barreled into the courtyard and came to a halt. Demitri jumped in slight surprise, but relaxed when he saw the huge vehicle, identified as some sort of oil tanker, come to a stop.

"An oil tanker in a game of vehicular destruction." Demitri noted. "You're really not the brightest bulb in the box, are you?"

A furry, red head leaned out the driver's window. "Animal win contest!" The creature shouted determinedly. "Animal get wish and everything better!"

"Wow I'm actually not that far off." Demitri said, slightly amused.

As he drove Shadow into battle, Demitri told himself to stay away from his opponent while dishing out damage. After all, he was in a hearse going against a massive, probably fully-loaded, oil tanker. The outcome probably wouldn't be pretty…

**(After Battle)**

Animal didn't even get to shout in disbelief. Minion, the huge oil tanker he was driving, exploded in a huge ball of fire, sending debris and pieces of the metal monstrosity flying in all directions.

One piece of Minion flew straight towards Shadow. Demitri was thrown back after the impact as Shadow was thrown backwards, rolling several times. Miraculously, Shadow landed upright and without too much damage, but Demitri had long since blacked out, a victim of being thrown around in the driver's seat and hitting his head.

Demitri's head was laying on the headrest at the driver's seat as the vampire was put into unconsciousness. As he lay in his seat, a memory came back to him, reminding him of why he was so determined to get what he wanted in the first place.

"_My dear, admit it. I have won."_

"_**I'll never admit defeat to the likes of you, Maximov. I refuse to submit to your will."**_

"_I'm afraid you have no choice, Morrigan. Now it's time to take what's mine…"_

"_**N-No!"**_

"_**WEEEE!!!"**_

"_AUGH!"_

"_**Lilith?! What are you doing here?!"**_

"_**Saving your behind, that's what! Now come on! Let's go!"**_

"…_You will both pay for this. I'll get you yet, my dear."_

Demitri drifted back to consciousness as his memory ended. The vampire narrowed his eyes at the memory. He had been extremely close to finally getting what he wanted that time, but he honestly wasn't expecting Lilith to jump in and save Morrigan like that. Since then, Demitri hadn't even come close to getting Morrigan to serve him, and it had been frustrating him for years. Still, now he had this grand opportunity to finally end the battle with Morrigan. He knew what he wanted in the end, but he was just curious as to how the wish would be granted when he won.

"The tournament is drawing to a close and I've almost won." Demitri said to himself. "Morrigan, when I'm done with this contest, you will serve only me."

With that, Demitri turned his hearse around and drove off the courtyard, leaving the still-burning oil tanker behind.

**(Level Eight)**

Demitri gave a twisted smirk as he drove onto the roof of a skyscraper. He was told that this would be the arena for the final battle in the tournament. This meant that Demitri was literally one battle away from winning the contest and the much-coveted wish at the end. Sure, he had to dash the hopes of the rest of the combatants in the process, but he figured it was worth it.

"Time for me to start the final battle." Brian said. "Strange. It feels that this contest just started, too."

Suddenly hearing another car driving onto the scene, Demitri turned his head and saw a large, black version of Sweet Tooth driving onto the roof. The driver was a VERY disturbed individual.

"So you're the last one standing, eh?" Needles Kane, the psychotic clown and Twisted Metal mascot when the contest still belonged to Calypso, laughed. "This'll be easy! Those Roberts siblings will rue the day they banished me from the tournament!"

"You really look like you'd fit in where I come from." Demitri said, lifted an eyebrow. "So you were banned from the contest? Why are you back, then?"

"Isn't it obvious? I sneaked in and took the place of the final boss those new owners picked." Needles said with an insane grin. "And now, all that's left for me to do is to wipe you out."

"I've come too far to give up on the wish." Demitri said as he started his hearse and drove into battle. "The wish is mine! And I'll make you see that!"

**(Ending)**

Carl and Jamie Roberts stood on a large, round platform, awaiting the winner of the contest to enter the 'lair', which looked more like a junkyard with all of the broken car parts scattered around.

Suddenly, the large doors at the other side of the lair opened and in rode a car, the winning vehicle.

Jamie noticed the dark hearse and smirked. "Isn't that Shadow?" She asked her brother.

"Indeed it is." Carl nodded as the vehicle came to a stop. "And that can only mean that the winner is…"

Stopping his vehicle, Demitri got out and looked around the junkyard with an unamused expression. He was honestly expecting a little better domain for the owners. Demitri shrugged and marched up to the platform the owners were on, trying to walk majestically as he did.

"Demitri Maximov, stylish vampire and feared fighter." Carl greeted. "Congratulations. You've won this year's Twisted Metal contest."

"You needn't worry about the others. They're all fine." Jamie added. "Some of our best mechanics are rebuilding their vehicles so that they can get back home safely."

"You may claim your prize, Demitri." Carl pointed out. "One wish, whatever your heart desires, will be granted."

"I've lived a life of luxury, and have everything anyone could want. However, none of those material possessions mattered to me, because none of them really meant anything to me in the end. There was one thing I wanted that had been eluding my grasp for years and her name is Morrigan." Demitri explained. "I have been trying to persuade her to serve me for a long time now, and I had actually gotten close before another succubus jumped in and saved her."

"We had a feeling this would be along the lines of what you wanted." Jamie sighed. "So what is your wish? We have the ability to give you whatever you want, you know."

"Yes. Did you want us to keep the other succubus at bay while you take the one you wnat?" Carl added.

"No. I've realized long ago that nothing I can do will rid me of that other succubus. However, it's still Morrigan I want and nothing more. She's just too stubborn to let me do what I need to do." Demitri explained. "If I had something that could change her mind and make her come to me willingly, it would make my life far easier. So for my wish, I wish for a formula. One that would cause Morrigan to fall head over heels in love with me."

The siblings looked at each other and nodded before turning back to the victor. "Granted." They said as one as they lifted their arms into the air. Strange, blue energy flew from the arms of both siblings before flying into the air, igniting in an orb of light. After a couple of seconds, the light exploded in a bright explosion, blinding Demitri. When the light cleared a vial of formula floated down and landed in Demitri's hand.

"What you have is a powerful love potion." Carl explained. "It will cause the first person that comes into contact with it to fall in love with you."

"Make sure you use it at the right time, though." Jamie reminded. "It'll only work once."

"Once is all I need." Demitri said with a smirk before bowing. "Thank you for your time. I'll take my leave."

111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

Demitri stalked through the woods of his homeland, the vial of formula in his hand. Demitri had been searching for Morrigan ever since he had returned, but hadn't had much luck in finding her yet. No one he came upon seemed to know of her whereabouts, either.

"Not that it matters. I have all the time in the world now that I have this potion." Demitri said with a smirk. "The next time I see Morrigan, I'll use this on her and she'll want nothing more than to be mine for all eternity."

Suddenly hearing a rustling coming from a nearby bush, Demitri looked at it curiously, wondering what was inside it.

"Morrigan wouldn't lower herself to hiding in bushes, but it's probably that psychotic bounty hunter looking to bag a vampire." Demitri said as he got into a stance. "I'd better be careful not to break the vial, though."

Suddenly, a huge, furry, white figure emerged from the bushes and leapt at Demitri happily. Needless to say, the appearance of the monster caught Demitri off guard.

"What the?! Sasquatch?" Demitri asked before sighing. "Get away from me. You're not worth my precious time now."

Still, the huge, furry monster seemed curious as to what Demitri was holding. Sasquatched swiped the vial from Demitri and began inspecting it.

Demitri's eyes widened. "Give that back, you fool! You might-"

The vial quickly and easily crushed in Sasquatch's massive hand, coating the abominable snowman with a purple mist. Demitri stared, as if fearfully anticipating the worst. Sasquatch coughed a few times, looked at Demitri and stood in silence for a few seconds.

Hearts suddenly appeared in Sasquatch's eyes as he raced at Demitri. The vampire cursed loudly as he turned and ran away with Sasquatch chasing him down. Not only did he completely waste the potion and was now forced to go back to his normal ways of trying to lure Morrigan, but now Demitri had a monster on his tail that he had no idea how to get rid of.

Demitri ran through the woods and back to his castle, and only then would he be able to shut Sasquatch out. He hated going back to his normal ways, but he didn't have a choice now.

To be continued…


	16. Darkside

Big the Cat – Darkside

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**(Intro)**

Station Square was always a bustling metropolis filled with both humans and animals. Strangely enough, the animals walked and talked like the humans did, while it seemed like nothing was out of the ordinary for the humans.

On this bright and clear afternoon, a large, purple cat was seen lumbering down the sidewalk, a fishing rod slung over his shoulder. This particular feline was just as tall as any normal human, which was twice as tall as the average animal in the city. The large feline was getting several unusual stares from people, as no one had ever really seen an animal as tall as him a lot.

Even still, the big cat, conveniently named 'Big', paid any mind to the stares he was getting. All that mattered to Big was enjoying the day and getting to where he needed to go.

Big suddenly spotted a pink hedgehog girl leaving a store with a couple of shopping bags. His face lighting up at the familiar figure, Big wandered over.

"Hey, Amy!" Big greeted cheerfully as he lumbered over to his friend.

"Oh! Hey, Big!" Amy greeted back. "How are things going?"

"The same as always. I actually managed to catch a huge fish today." Big said proudly.

Amy chuckled and shook her head. "Man. How can you do nothing but fish all day every day?" She asked.

Big gave a carefree shrug. "It's all I know how to do, Amy." He replied.

"But you come in so handy when we're fighting Eggman." Amy reminded. "Your strength makes you essential to victory sometimes."

Big smiled brightly. "Gee, it's great to feel needed." He said.

Amy looked around at the people giving her friend strange looks. "Do you people MIND?!" She asked, making everyone quickly go back to whatever they were doing. "Honestly, I don't see why all these people look at you like that all the time."

"Maybe I don't fit in…" Big said, his ears drooping a little.

"No, Big. I think that may only be a part of the equation." Amy sighed.

"Uh…Equation? What's that?" Big asked, confusedly.

"That's exactly it, Big." Amy said. "You may be one of the strongest guys around, but…I don't know how to word this, but…You aren't as smart as others."

"But…That's not my fault…" Big said, looking hurt.

"I know, Big. I just wish that…" Amy trailed off when she looked like she remembered something. "Wait! I think I've got something that can help!"

Amy fished a letter from her pocket and showed it to Big. "It's an invitation to a contest called Twisted Metal." She explained. "The winner gets a wish. If you won that contest, you'd have the chance to make yourself smarter and avoid those looks other people give you."

"Really? Is it possible to do that?" Big asked, taking the letter and looking it over.

"I don't know, but what have you got to lose?" Amy shrugged.

A smile floated across the large feline's face. "Okay. I'll give it a try." Big nodded. "Maybe I could even surprise myself…"

**(Pre-Level One)**

When Big heard that he needed a vehicle to the contest, he had no idea where to start. He had never driven a car before in his life, as he had spent his entire life out in the middle of nowhere. It was hard finding something Big was even able to fit inside, but he eventually found a black flatbed truck and realized that he was actually able to fit inside the cabin. Unknowing that the truck had the word 'GUN' written on the side, Big drove off with it (the government would soon throw a fit that they had let one of their trucks be stolen) and was soon at the Twisted Metal stadium, where the contest would start.

Currently, Big was standing in a line in the middle of a packed stadium. In the line were the sixteen contestants, their respective vehicles parked just behind them, several mechanics working on all of them.

Suddenly, a large screen hanging from the ceiling turned on, showing two faces. Big glanced upwards and tilted his head, wondering how the two people could get inside the screen like that…

"Greetings, contestants." The male figure said. "I am Carl Roberts and this is my sister Jamie."

"Thank you for agreeing to participate in this tournament." Jamie added. "You are obviously aware of what is at stake, here."

"Currently, some of our men are fixing up the vehicles you all brought with high-powered weapons." Carl said. "Believe me. You need them to survive here."

"The aim of this contest is to be the last vehicle standing. If your vehicle explodes, you're out of the tournament, but don't worry. We have the technology to get you out of your car safely before it blows." Jamie said.

"However, you don't just have yourselves to worry about." Carl pointed out. "We have also invited three individuals to act as bosses that will fight the winner of a specific round."

"The final winner at the end will be the one that will earn the grand prize: A wish. Whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't involve us giving up our powers, will be granted."

"Good luck, everyone. May the best driver win!" The two siblings said as one.

Big turned and walked towards his car (which the veteran mechanics had given the name of 'Darkside' for reasons Big didn't understand), which had just been finished getting worked on. It took a bit, but Big was able to clamber up into the truck's cabin without breaking anything (on him or the truck). Plopping down behind the huge wheel, Big experimentally turned the keys in the ignition, bringing the truck to life…

**(Pre-Level Three)**

How well could a flatbed do in a game of vehicular destruction? Better than most would imagine. Big mowed over the competition in the first two fights, granting him the opportunity to fight his next fight alone. Big drove onto an abandoned parking lot, but when he arrived, the place was empty.

"My opponent's not here." Big said as he looked around. "Does that mean that I win?"

Suddenly, Big heard a strange tune being played. Looking to his right, Big saw a white ice cream truck driving onto the scene, the music coming from the speakers on the roof.

Big blinked a couple of times before realizing what the driver was trying to do. Throwing the truck into gear, Big drove out of harm's way.

As soon as Big had driven to the side, the ice cream truck did a spin before coming to a stop right beside the flatbed, revealing a man with red and yellow hair.

"I may not be that smart, but even I know that wasn't smart." Big pointed out. "You wouldn't have done anything to my truck other than made a big dent."

"Dude, that's what I was trying to do." The man replied with a sly smirk. "The name's Sypher. I'm the boss of this zone."

"A boss? You look funny with that outfit and hair." Big chuckled merrily. "And here I was thinking that Eggman guy looked funny."

"Hey, I didn't steal Duck's invitation to get mocked, pal." Sypher said as he drove ahead a bit and turned around to face Big. "I'm going to beat you and win this thing to get that wish!"

Big put two and two together and didn't like the results. This guy had entered the contest illegally, and even Big knew that was a bad thing to do. Throwing his truck into gear, Big drove into battle. He may not have liked ending the hopes of the contestants, but he was going to have fun here…

**(After Battle)**

Big had just dealt the final blow. An explosion erupted from somewhere in the engine, making the hood of Sweet Tooth, Syper's ice cream truck, fly off and land several feet away.

"N-No! This can't be!!" Sypher cried in disbelief as his truck started to break down. "How could I lose?!"

That was all Sypher could get out before Sweet Tooth exploded in a ball of fire. Sitting in Darkside, off to the side, Big smacked his lips a couple of times.

"He wasn't a very nice man." Big concluded as he drove Darkside off the parking lot.

**(Pre-Level Five)**

Big was starting to enjoy the competition. He was normally a very laid-back fisherman, but after being exposed to so much action in this contest, Big was starting to experience the thrill of the contest. After winning two more fights, Big drove Darkside onto a construction yard for his next fight. Like the parking lot from earlier, this makeshift arena was empty.

"Hey…There's no one here either…." Big blinked. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

Hearing an engine revving up, Big found himself looking upwards, towards a dirt ramp leading into the 'arena'. A large vehicle shot off the ramp and soared overtop of Darkside before landing on the ground. When Big took a better look, it was a dump truck.

"That was a neat trick you did there." Big said. "Since we're alone, does that mean you're the boss?"

"Yes." The brown-haired man driving the dump truck nodded. "My name's Flint Marko, but most people know me as 'Sandman'."

"That's a funny name…But the bad guy from earlier had a funny name, too." Big said, looking surprisingly serious. "Did you take your invitation from someone else? That's not nice, you know."

"I entered this legitimately, but I need the wish." Sandman replied, revving up his vehicle. "I have to take you down to get to the end and get that wish, and I'm going to see to it that I get it."

"I want the wish too." Big replied. "I want to fit in, and I'm sorry, but I think I need to take you down to do that."

**(After Battle)**

Sandman's eyes widened as he looked around at Manslaughter, his dump truck. Parts were starting to fall off and explosions were starting to erupt all around the vehicle.

"No! NO!" Sandman cried. "PENNY!!"

With that, Manslaughter exploded, sending the sand it was carrying scattering all over the construction site.

Big sat aside in Darkside, in total silence. The cat's round, yellow eyes stared at the smoldering wreckage of the dump truck as Big sighed to himself. For the first time, Big felt extremely guilty about taking away someone's chance at a wish, because it sounded like his opponent had a good reason for entering.

Big soon came to the conclusion that there was nothing he could do about it, now. The purple cat threw Darkside into gear as he looked at Manslaughter's wreckage again.

"He was nicer than the other guy." Big said as he drove off the scene. "I hope he doesn't get mad at me, later..."

**(Pre-Level Seven)**

Two more fights later and Big was beginning to see why Sonic found destroying Eggman's robots so much fun. Big loved all of the action the contest brought, but it didn't deter his mind from the prize at the end. Darkside drove onto a castle courtyard, per instructions from the owners, but Big found this arena to be deserted as well.

"This looks like I'm fighting another boss." Big noticed. "I wonder how determined my opponent will-"

Big didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because the gates on the other side of the courtyard were burst open. A huge vehicle barreled into the courtyard and came to a halt. Big jumped in slight surprise, but relaxed when he saw the huge vehicle, identified as some sort of oil tanker, come to a stop.

"That thing looks like it'll explode." Big pointed out. "Are you sure you want to drive it here?"

A furry, red head leaned out the driver's window. "Animal win contest!" The creature shouted determinedly. "Animal get wish and everything better!"

"I don't think I can get through to him." Big sighed.

Seeing as how his opponent wouldn't listen, Big drove into battle, but told himself to remain cautious. Big may have had the biggest vehicle out of the contestants, but it definitely wasn't fireproof…

**(After Battle)**

Animal didn't even get to shout in disbelief. Minion, the huge oil tanker he was driving, exploded in a huge ball of fire, sending debris and pieces of the metal monstrosity flying in all directions.

One piece of Minion flew straight towards Darkside. Although the impact only cause the flatbed to fly backwards a few feet, the damage was still done. Big was shot forward and hit his head on the steering wheel. The impact on Big's forehead was enough to render the large feline unconscious.

Big's blacked-out form rested in Darkside for several seconds, the cat's head resting on the large steering wheel. As Big was unconscious, a familiar memory flooded through his head.

"…_Hey, Amy?"_

"_**Oh. Hey, Big…What's wrong? It looks like something's bothering you."**_

"_I tried talking to Ms. Rouge over there, but she didn't seem to want to talk back."_

"…_**Oh. That Rouge. I can't believe her…"**_

"_What's wrong, Amy? Is it me?"_

"_**Big, the reason she doesn't want to talk to you may be because you're a little slower than she is."**_

"_But…I can't help that…I lived by myself and…Had to teach myself to do anything…"_

"_**I know, Big. Unfortunately, not a lot of other people know that."**_

"…_So, the problem IS me then..."_

Big drifted back to his senses and gave a sigh. Normally, he wouldn't let the looks of others get to him, but that particular day was especially hard on Big. Rouge was a member of the team and even she wasn't treating him like a friend. The more Big thought about it, he realized that some of the other team members didn't think very highly of him. Even Sonic himself considered Big more of an acquaintance than anything…

"Maybe if I win, I'd be able to make things better." Big mused. "If my friends don't treat me like friends…Are they even friends?"

With that, Big drove off the courtyard. The contest was coming to an end, and Big was even closer to that wish. He didn't want to lose his chance now...

**(Level Eight)**

Darkside drove onto the roof of a tall skyscraper after winning one final fight. The owners had told Big that this would be where he'd fight the final boss of the contest, and that told the feline that his final fight would be the hardest yet. Even still, Big pressed on and drove onto the rooftop, but found it empty much like the other boss arenas.

"Why am I here before the final boss?" Big asked. "You'd think these people would have better time management skills..."

Suddenly hearing another car driving onto the scene, Big turned his head and saw a large, black version of Sweet Tooth driving onto the roof. The driver was a VERY disturbed individual.

"So you're the last one standing, eh?" Needles Kane, the psychotic clown and Twisted Metal mascot when the contest still belonged to Calypso, laughed. "This'll be easy! Those Roberts siblings will rue the day they banished me from the tournament!"

"You look like a very bad man. I don't like bad men." Big replied. "But why are you here if you're not supposed to be here anymore?"

"Isn't it obvious? I sneaked in and took the place of the final boss those new owners picked." Needles said with an insane grin. "And now, all that's left for me to do is to wipe you out."

"I said that I don't like bad men. I won't lose to you." Big said determinedly as he gripped the steering wheel of Darkside. "I want that wish and I'm not going to let you take it."

**(Ending)**

Carl and Jamie Roberts stood on a large, round platform, awaiting the winner of the contest to enter the 'lair', which looked more like a junkyard with all of the broken car parts scattered around.

Suddenly, the large doors at the other side of the lair opened and in rode a car, the winning vehicle.

Jamie noticed the huge flatbed and smirked. "Isn't that Darkside?" She asked her brother.

"Indeed it is." Carl nodded as the vehicle came to a stop. "And that can only mean that the winner is…"

After stopping Darkside, Big opened the door and stepped out. The huge feline instantly fell ten feet to the ground and actually bounced a couple of times before getting to his feet. Rubbing his head, Big wandered up onto the platform to join the owners.

"Big the Cat, master fisherman and a mountain of muscle." Carl greeted. "Congratulations. You've won this year's Twisted Metal contest."

"You needn't worry about the others. They're all fine." Jamie added. "Some of our best mechanics are rebuilding their vehicles so that they can get back home safely."

"You may claim your prize, Big." Carl pointed out. "One wish, whatever your heart desires, will be granted."

"Throughout my life, I've always figured that it was always best to remain happy and be laid-back. It was hard to do at first because I've always lived by myself except for my best friend Froggy, but I was able to get by." Big explained. "But not a lot of others saw me that way. Because I wasn't as smart as others, I was sometimes…Uh…Overlooked. Even people I like to think as friends don't really think much of me."

"It's hard when supposed friends treat you no differently than others." Jamie sighed. "So what is your wish? We have the ability to give you whatever you want, you know."

"Yes. Did you want us to keep heighten your intelligence level to help you fit in better with others?" Carl added.

"No. If I was any smarter, I'd worry more. I don't want to leave my laid-back life behind, but I still want to fit in with my friends." Big explained. "If they could understand what I've been going through, then maybe things will work out in the end. Officers, I wish that people would see me for what I am. I'm tired of being portrayed as a big dummy..."

The siblings looked at each other and nodded before turning back to the victor. "Granted." They said as one as they lifted their arms into the air. Strange, blue energy flew from the arms of both siblings before flying into the air, igniting in an orb of light. After a couple of seconds, the light exploded in a bright explosion, blinding Big.

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Big hummed a cheerful tune as he cast another lure at the river of the Mystic Ruins. The large cat's best friend, an average frog, watched Big fish with anticipation for what the feline would catch.

Needless to say, all of the strange looks stopped almost instantly when Big got back. Sure, he still wasn't as sharp as the others in Sonic's group, but now people had an understanding of why Big was like that to begin with. No one needed to think about why Big wasn't as smart anymore because it all made a lot more sense. Big was happier than ever now because Sonic and the others were giving him a lot more respect.

"Maybe this one's a Red Snapper, Froggy." Big said. "It's putting up a bit of a fight."

Froggy jumped a couple of times in excitement, waiting for Big to reel in his latest catch.

"Um…Hey, Big?"

Big looked over his shoulder and saw a slender, white bat nervously approaching him. Despite the fact that he wasn't watching his fishing line anymore, he was still skillfully reeling in the fish.

"Oh. Hey, Ms. Rouge." Big greeted cheerfully. "What brings you all the way out here?"

"I…I wanted to formally apologize for not treating you the way I should have." Rouge replied. "Now that I know the reason you aren't as sharp as others, I feel guilty that I haven't been giving you a lot of respect."

"Aw, that's okay, Ms. Rouge. I forgive you." Big said sweetly as he reeled the fish in without looking. Froggy gave a croak, making the feline look at his latest catch. "Wow! That fish is big, Froggy!" He said.

"But one thing I still don't get is how you can like something as boring as fishing." Rouge explained.

"It's not boring when you know how to do it." Big explained before brightening up. "I can teach you how to do it, Ms. Rouge."

"Well…I don't know how well I'd do at it." Rouge said.

"You never know until you try, though."

Rouge stood in silence, realizing that Big had her there. She shrugged and stepped over. "Okay, big guy. You want to teach me how to fish?" She asked. "So how do I fish?"

Big grinned as he stood up and handed his fishing rod to Rouge. He really felt like he was beginning to fit in…

To be continued…


	17. Thumper

Ally Gator – Thumper

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**(Intro)**

A blonde, male boxer was in a training gym, rapidly and repeatedly throwing jabs and hooks at a punching bag. Aside from his trademark blonde goatee, his most-distinguishable features were the trunks he was wearing decorated like the American flag.

Kid USA continued to train heavily, warming himself up. He had a big fight in two days and he needed to be ready. Heck, the fight was against Tiny, the tallest and strongest boxer on the circuit. If this fight was anything like Kid USA's other fights against the Canadian giant, the fight would be extremely-painful even if he won.

Suddenly, the door to the gym was thrown open, smashing against the wall. This made Kid USA jump in surprise before turning and seeing who had just burst into the gym.

At the door stood a heaving mad redhead woman with a teal baseball cap. The woman stormed into the gym and threw a single punch at a bag hanging from the ceiling as she walked past it, knocking it off its chain in one punch.

Kid USA sighed in relief. He was worried a robber had tried to break into the gym, but it was just his little sister having another massive temper tantrum (and she had a HUGE temper to lose).

"Uh…How'd the fight go, Ally?" Kid USA asked hopefully.

"Jackpot wasted me out there!" Ally Gator roared as she slammed her hand down onto a bench. Unfortunately, there was a small barbell sitting on the other end of said bench, which was promptly catapaulted at Ally's brother.

Kid USA ducked as the barbell flew over his head. "Wait. Jackpot?!" He asked. "You've always been able to beat that ball of blubber!"

"You think I don't know that?!" Ally asked. "I haven't won a fight against ANYONE in the past three months! First Janet, then Nadine, then Pharaoh, then Janet again, then Bronto, then Odiva, then El Luchadore, then Janet AGAIN, then-"

"I get it! I get it!" Kid USA insisted. "You haven't been exactly lucky in the ring lately!"

"I think my boxing strategies have been found out, but I have no idea HOW!" Ally roared. "It's almost as if my opponents know what I'm going to do before I even DO it!"

"I know. It's weird." Kid USA scratched his head.

"I just wish I knew how that was all possible. I'm getting so sick of losing…" Ally moaned.

Suddenly, the door to the gym opened again and in walked an orange-haired Irishman with a clover tattoo on his chest. He was holding an envelope in his hand. "Uh…Ally, Aye found this letter outside the door here." Mickey McFist announced. "Did ye miss it?"

"I couldn't have. I already got the mail." Ally shook her head as she walked over.

Mickey flashed a cheeky grin. "Aye'll give ye the letter if ye go out with me next-"

That was all Mickey got out before Ally punched him in the face, knocking him to the floor and making him let go of the letter, which wafted in the air until Ally grabbed it in midair.

"Forget it, Micky." Ally said as she opened the letter. After reading it, her eyes widened. "Hey, bro! This is an invitation to that Twisted Metal thing you like to watch!"

"Seriously?! And it's addressed to you?!" Kid USA asked as he came over. "Man! This is awesome! And it's perfect timing, too!"

"What do you mean?"

"You wanna know what's been going on? If you win this thing, you can wish to know!"

A smirk floated across Ally's face. "You know what? This contest thing sounds like a great idea." She said.

**(Pre-Level One)**

Ally wasn't about to enter her own car into a game of vehicular destruction (even if it WAS a beat-up jalopy), so she just swiped Janet's low-rider when she wasn't looking (not that the spoiled little rich girl couldn't afford another one, anyway). Ally soon arrived at the Twisted Metal dome, where the contest would be taking place. She sized up the competition and realized that she was lucky that she wouldn't be fighting anyone on foot. With some of the contestants, even she wouldn't stand a chance.

Currently, Ally was standing in a line in the middle of a packed stadium. In the line were the sixteen contestants, their respective vehicles parked just behind them, several mechanics working on all of them.

Suddenly, a large screen hanging from the ceiling turned on, showing two faces. Ally glanced upwards and folded her arms, waiting for the owners of the contest to start talking.

"Greetings, contestants." The male figure said. "I am Carl Roberts and this is my sister Jamie."

"Thank you for agreeing to participate in this tournament." Jamie added. "You are obviously aware of what is at stake, here."

"Currently, some of our men are fixing up the vehicles you all brought with high-powered weapons." Carl said. "Believe me. You need them to survive here."

"The aim of this contest is to be the last vehicle standing. If your vehicle explodes, you're out of the tournament, but don't worry. We have the technology to get you out of your car safely before it blows." Jamie said.

"However, you don't just have yourselves to worry about." Carl pointed out. "We have also invited three individuals to act as bosses that will fight the winner of a specific round."

"The final winner at the end will be the one that will earn the grand prize: A wish. Whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't involve us giving up our powers, will be granted."

"Good luck, everyone. May the best driver win!" The two siblings said as one.

Ally turned and walked towards her car (which the veteran mechanics had given the name of 'Thumper'; she didn't care enough to question them), which had just been finished getting worked on. Cracking her knuckles and giving a smirk, Ally opened the driver's door and stepped inside the car. As she turned the keys, all she could think of was how much fun this would be…

**(Pre-Level Three)**

Ally was able to best the competition in the first two battles of the contest. After winning, the redhead had been instructed to go to a parking lot to await her next battle. Ally followed the directions, but when she arrived at the parking lot, it was abandoned…

"I couldn't have gotten lost This is the place." Ally said suspiciously. "My opponent's around here somewhere…"

Suddenly, Ally heard a strange tune being played. Looking to her right, Ally saw a white ice cream truck driving onto the scene, the music coming from the speakers on the roof.

Allt narrowed her eyes. "And there he is." She said as she drove out of the way.

As soon as Ally had driven to the side, the ice cream truck did a spin before coming to a stop right beside the low-rider, revealing a man with red and yellow hair.

"You could have destroyed my car with that stunt, mac." Ally pointed out. "Not that I really care about that because this isn't my car, but it would have ruined my chances."

"Dude, that's what I was trying to do." The man replied with a sly smirk. "The name's Sypher. I'm the boss of this zone."

"A boss that dresses like a clown?" Ally asked with a smirk. "Don't make me laugh. This is going to be easy."

"Hey, I didn't steal Duck's invitation to get mocked, pal." Sypher said as he drove ahead a bit and turned around to face Ally. "I'm going to beat you and win this thing to get that wish!"

Ally narrowed her eyes as she readied herself to fight the oncoming ice cream truck. This guy was a snake, as he was entering with someone else's invitation. Telling herself to picture Sypher as someone she really hated, Ally drove into battle to unleash everything she had.

**(After Battle)**

Ally had just dealt the final blow. An explosion erupted from somewhere in the engine, making the hood of Sweet Tooth, Syper's ice cream truck, fly off and land several feet away.

"N-No! This can't be!!" Sypher cried in disbelief as his truck started to break down. "How could I lose?!"

That was all Sypher could get out before Sweet Tooth exploded in a ball of fire. Ally, sitting aside in Thumper, gave a smirk.

"Heh. Another one bites the dust." Ally said as she turned around and drove off the lot.

**(Pre-Level Five)**

Ally continued to surprise the other contestants and managed to score two more wins. After winning the fourth battle, Ally was told to go to a construction yard, which she drove to without question. However, much like the parking lot from earlier, Ally found the construction yard to be empty and devoid of life.

"This has gotten be another boss fight." Ally shook her head. "If this boss tries something like that last guy did…"

Hearing an engine revving up, Ally found herself looking upwards, towards a dirt ramp leading into the 'arena'. A large vehicle shot off the ramp and soared overtop of Thumper before landing on the ground. When Ally took a better look, it was a dump truck.

"My brother would probably be impressed with that little trick." Ally noted. "I take it that you're the boss here and I have to beat you before moving on?"

"Yes." The brown-haired man driving the dump truck nodded. "My name's Flint Marko, but most people know me as 'Sandman'."

"Hmm…I know you. You're a criminal, aren't you?" Ally checked. "Does that mean that you stole your invitation like the last boss did?"

"I entered this legitimately, but I need the wish." Sandman replied, revving up his vehicle. "I have to take you down to get to the end and get that wish, and I'm going to see to it that I get it."

"The wish is mine, pal." Ally replied. "And if I have to take you out to get it, then I'm not gonna hesitate!"

**(After Battle)**

Sandman's eyes widened as he looked around at Manslaughter, his dump truck. Parts were starting to fall off and explosions were starting to erupt all around the vehicle.

"No! NO!" Sandman cried. "PENNY!!"

With that, Manslaughter exploded, sending the sand it was carrying scattering all over the construction site.

Sitting aside in Thumper, Ally sat folding her arms. Cleanign her windshield from the sand that was splattered over it, Ally's gaze softened. Juging from that final outburst, Sandman had entered for a pretty good reason. It made Ally feel bad that she had just eliminated him from the competition.

Ally sighed as she started Thumper again. There was nothing she could do about it now, and she was closer to winning. Hopefully, Sandman would be able to forgive her later…

"He's not a bad guy for a supposed criminal." Ally mused as she drove away. "I wonder how long he's been on the wrong side of society…"

**(Pre-Level Seven)**

Ally soon found out how much stress she was letting off with all of the destruction she was causing. After winning two more battles, Ally drove Thumper onto the courtyard of an old castle. She looked around the arena and saw that the courtyard was empty.

"Another boss arena, no doubt." Ally deduced. "Honestly, this I just getting-"

Ally didn't get a chance to finish her sentence, because the gates on the other side of the courtyard were burst open. A huge vehicle barreled into the courtyard and came to a halt. Ally jumped in slight surprise, but relaxed when she saw the huge vehicle, identified as some sort of oil tanker, come to a stop.

"Wait. An oil tanker in a game like this?" Ally asked. "What kind of lunatic are you?"

A furry, red head leaned out the driver's window. "Animal win contest!" The creature shouted determinedly. "Animal get wish and everything better!"

"I just had to open my big mouth." Ally rolled her eyes.

Ally saw that her opponent wasn't backing down, so she drove into battle. However, as she did, she told herself to stay away from her opponent's vehicle in case it was destroyed. The explosion could total her car…

**(After Battle)**

Animal didn't even get to shout in disbelief. Minion, the huge oil tanker he was driving, exploded in a huge ball of fire, sending debris and pieces of the metal monstrosity flying in all directions.

One piece of Minion flew straight towards Thumper. The piece struck the side of the low-rider and sent it flying backwards, knocking Ally around inside. By the time Thumper finally came to a halt, Ally had hit her head and was knocked unconscious.

Ally rested in the driver's seat of Thumper, blacked out as Minion continued to burn. As she was unconscious, a familiar memory floated through Ally's head.

"_Ha! Take that, Janet! I win again!"_

"_**How can you keep beating me?! I know I'm a better fighter than you!"**_

"_You're all talk, spoiled princess. You just don't have the skill to back up that big mouth of yours."_

"_**I'm going to make you eat those words, Ally!"**_

"_That's what you said the last time we fought."_

"_**I mean it this time! When I'm done with you, you'll never win a fight again!"**_

"_Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've heard it all before. Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta keep my brother away from that blonde over there…"_

"_**Just you wait, Ally. I'm going to get you good for this..."**_

"_Bro, keep away from her! She's already seeing someone!"_

Ally's eyes snapped open as she shot back into a sitting position. She remembered that conversation with Janet just after winning a fight against her. That was also the last fight Ally won before starting her losing streak. She and Janet had always hated each other, so maybe the whole thing was somehow Janet's doing? Ally narrowed her eyes. If she found out that Janet was actually responsible for her massive losing streak…

"Oh, if that brat is behind this, she's going to be in REAL trouble." Ally seethed. "If I don't get to her first, bro will."

With that, Ally drove Thumped off the courtyard. She was even closer to the wish now and that meant she was that much closer to ending her losing streak…

**(Level Eight)**

Ally ended up winning the final regulation battle, meaning that she was scheduled to fight the end boss of the contest. Driving onto the roof of a skyscraper, Ally looked around. Much like the other boss arenas, the rooftop was deserted. Well, at the moment, it was deserted…

"The final fight on the roof of a skyscraper." Ally shook her head. "This can't end well…"

Suddenly hearing another car driving onto the scene, Ally turned her head and saw a large, black version of Sweet Tooth driving onto the roof. The driver was a VERY disturbed individual.

"So you're the last one standing, eh?" Needles Kane, the psychotic clown and Twisted Metal mascot when the contest still belonged to Calypso, laughed. "This'll be easy! Those Roberts siblings will rue the day they banished me from the tournament!"

"You talk tough. I doubt you can deliver." Ally pointed out. "And if you were banned, you shouldm't even be here in the first place. What gives?"

"Isn't it obvious? I sneaked in and took the place of the final boss those new owners picked." Needles said with an insane grin. "And now, all that's left for me to do is to wipe you out."

"There's no way I'm going to lose to an insane clown." Ally countered, rotating her head a few times. "I'm getting that wish and I'm not going to let you take it."

**(Ending)**

Carl and Jamie Roberts stood on a large, round platform, awaiting the winner of the contest to enter the 'lair', which looked more like a junkyard with all of the broken car parts scattered around.

Suddenly, the large doors at the other side of the lair opened and in rode a car, the winning vehicle.

Jamie noticed the purple low-rider and smirked. "Isn't that Thumper?" She asked her brother.

"Indeed it is." Carl nodded as the vehicle came to a stop. "And that can only mean that the winner is…"

Ally stepped out of Thumper and shut the door behind her. She paused when she remembered that it was technically Janet's car and drove her elbow into the hood before walking up to join the owners with a satisfied smirk.

"Ally Gator, firey redhead with an explosive temper." Carl greeted. "Congratulations. You've won this year's Twisted Metal contest."

"You needn't worry about the others. They're all fine." Jamie added. "Some of our best mechanics are rebuilding their vehicles so that they can get back home safely."

"You may claim your prize, Ally." Carl pointed out. "One wish, whatever your heart desires, will be granted."

"I lived in the swamp for most of my life by myself. I was always trying to find ways to save the forests and the animals, even if I had to beat the crap out of anyone that tried to do harm." Ally said proudly. "But when I decided to join my brother on the boxing circuit, I realized what type of scum pass as athletes. I enjoyed beating them up because of their attitudes towards me, my brother and my views on nature, so I stuck with the circuit."

"I can honestly say we've never seen an environmentalist with such extreme measures." Jamie sighed. "So what is your wish? We have the ability to change views of others, you know."

"Yes. Did you want us to make the other boxers see things your way?" Carl added.

Ally paused in thought, but shook her head. "No. That would take the fun of beating them up out of the fights. What's been bugging me lately is that all of my opponents have figured out my strategies in the ring before I've been able to do anything." She explained. "I suspect foul play, but I have no idea how it's been happening. Officers, I wish to know why and how this is being done. I want to know who's trying to ruin my career and how they're doing it."

The siblings looked at each other and nodded before turning back to the victor. "Granted." They said as one as they lifted their arms into the air. Strange, blue energy flew from the arms of both siblings before flying into the air, igniting in an orb of light. After a couple of seconds, the light exploded in a bright explosion, blinding Ally.

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Kid USA was once again training in his gym with Mickey watching. He had managed to win his fight with Tiny, but it was close. Kid USA took this as a message that he needed to keep up with the training, because he was up against Maiagaru next. She was the toughest fighter on the circuit and she wasn't exactly fond of him to boot.

The door to the gym was thrown open again, catching both boxers off guard and making them jump in surprise. They turned and saw Ally at the doorway, seething in hatred and looking like she would explode on the first person that opened their mouth.

As Ally stormed into the gym, Kid USA and Mickey looked at each other nervously, as if challenging the other to speak first (and possibly incur Ally's wrath).

Kid USA, feeling that he'd stand a better chance because he was Ally's brother, spoke first. "Uh…How'd the contest go, Ally?" He asked.

"I won." Ally replied as she walked over to a shelf.

"Y-You did?" Kid USA asked as he stepped out of the ring. "Then...Why do you look so angry?"

"I know what's responsible for my losing streak." Ally replied as she fished around a couple of books on the shelf.

"Uh…What is it?" Mickey asked.

Ally pulled a small camera out from the shelf, startling both of the others. "Janet planted this camera and has been watching me train for all of my fights." Ally replied darkly. "All of my opponents have actually been PAYING her to learn my strategies."

"This was Janet's doing?!" Kid USA asked. "Then again, she HAS been the one you've been losing the most to, lately."

"And my next fight's against her as well." Ally said as she crushed the camera in her hand. "I'm going to teach that spoiled exercise fanatic not to cross me."

Kid USA and Mickey watched as Ally walked over to the nearest punching bag and started whaling on it. The two looked at each other for a few seconds.

"Ally's looking pretty mad. I think she means business." Kid USA noted.

"Janet's pretty screwed, laddie." Mickey said with a smirk.

"That she is." Kid USA added with an even bigger smirk.

To be continued…


	18. Twister

Sylvia – Twister

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**(Intro)**

"And…Cut! That's a wrap!"

An older man in a blue superhero suit got out of his director's chair and walked onto the set of the movie he was shooting (because he was in the movie, the director remained in costume). Standing in the middle of a destroyed movie set of a city block was a young, athletic-looking man in a red suit.

"Joe, that was another great job today." Captain Blue, the director explained. "I think we may be on the verge of a huge comeback!"

"Awesome!" Joe (or 'Viewtiful Joe' as his superhero name was called) replied with a thumb's up. "We've been trying to get that perfect script for a long time and we haven't been real lucky."

"Don't feel so negative, Joe." Blue explained. "If we can pull off the movie well enough, we'll have a hit."

"Looking forward to it, chief." Joe nodded before smacking his lips. "Man. I'm starved. You up for Chinese today, boss?"

"It's very tempting, I'll admit." Blue nodded in thought as the two started to walk away.

"He-LLO?!" A new voice asked. "Aren't you guys forgetting something?!"

The two froze in realization as they hesitantly turned to look at a petite female in a blue superhero suit dangling from a lightpost, tied up and unable to get down.

"Uh…Of course not, Sylvia." Joe chuckled as he raced over to free his girlfriend. "I was just teasing you."

"For your sake, I hope so."

After she was untied, Sylvia rubbed her wrists as she looked at the director. "Daddy, if this is supposed to be a big comeback for all of us, then why don't I have a better role?" She asked. "I mean, ever since we started, I've been two things: The sidekick and the damsel in distress."

"Sylvia, you know that the people love Joe. I need to put more spotlight on him because not as many people will watch the film otherwise." Blue noted. "Don't worry, Sylvia. You'll get your moment."

"But when?! We've been out of work for a long time and just when we're coming back, I'm still doing what I've been doing since the start!" Sylvia explained. "You of all people should know that I've got more potential than just being the girl Joe rescues all of the time!"

"Believe me, Sylvia. It pains me to treat you and your character the way I have." Blue explained. "But I want to make sure I give the audience what they want."

"Um…Hey, Sylvia? You wanna come with us?" Joe asked. "We can discuss future ideas and you can talk about your part if you want."

"No. I'm fine." Sylvia sighed.

After Joe and Blue were gone, Sylvia looked at the ground and sighed. "I've got so much potential, but I'm just not given the chance to show what I can do." Sylvia lamented. "If only I could show those two that I mean business…"

The wind started picking up around the lot. In fact, the wind ended up blowing a letter into Sylvia's face, catching the blonde girl by surprise. Sylvia quickly removed the letter from her face and inspected it. Her eyes widened when she saw that it was not only addressed to her, but was unopened at the same time.

"Okay. This is kind of creepy." Sylvia said as she opened the letter. "But it's too tempting not to open." After reading the letter, her eyes widened even more. "How is this possible?! How could this have shown up at just this moment and still be a coincidence?!"

Sylvia looked around to see if there was anyone around. She looked back down at the letter before forming a smirk. "Well, it's not as if my character has that big of a part." She said to herself. "I'm sure Joe and daddy can manage without me for a bit."

**(Pre-Level One)**

Findign a vehicle wasn't that hard to do when Sylvia's father owned the movie lot. She found a racecar that had been unused for a bit and decided to enter with it when she found that it still worked well enough. Sylvia was soon on her way to the stadium where the contest would take place and arrived in good time. She sized up her competition and told herself to be ready for anything, especially since everyone else would want that wish as much as her.

Currently, Sylvia was standing in a line in the middle of a packed stadium. In the line were the sixteen contestants, their respective vehicles parked just behind them, several mechanics working on all of them.

Suddenly, a large screen hanging from the ceiling turned on, showing two faces. Sylvia looked upwards when she saw some of the others doing the same.

"Greetings, contestants." The male figure said. "I am Carl Roberts and this is my sister Jamie."

"Thank you for agreeing to participate in this tournament." Jamie added. "You are obviously aware of what is at stake, here."

"Currently, some of our men are fixing up the vehicles you all brought with high-powered weapons." Carl said. "Believe me. You need them to survive here."

"The aim of this contest is to be the last vehicle standing. If your vehicle explodes, you're out of the tournament, but don't worry. We have the technology to get you out of your car safely before it blows." Jamie said.

"However, you don't just have yourselves to worry about." Carl pointed out. "We have also invited three individuals to act as bosses that will fight the winner of a specific round."

"The final winner at the end will be the one that will earn the grand prize: A wish. Whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't involve us giving up our powers, will be granted."

"Good luck, everyone. May the best driver win!" The two siblings said as one.

Sylvia turned and walked towards her car (which had been given the nickname of 'Twister'), which had just been finished getting worked on. Taking a moment to put on her superhero helmet before stepping inside, Sylvia stepped into the driver's seat of the car and buckled in. This was going to be a wild ride…

**(Pre-Level Three)**

Sylvia used her quick wits to get the best of her opponents in the first two battles. Upon winning the second fight, Sylvia was told to go to a parking lot for her next battle. However, when Sylvia arrived at the parking lot, she found the makeshift arena to be empty.

"That's strange. My opponent's not here." Sylvia said as she looked around. "This can't be right. Maybe I'm in the wrong place…"

Suddenly, Sylvia heard a strange tune being played. Looking to her right, Sylvia saw a white ice cream truck driving onto the scene, the music coming from the speakers on the roof.

Sylvia narrowed her eyes. "Then again, maybe this IS the place." She said as she drove out of the way.

As soon as Sylvia had driven to the side, the ice cream truck did a spin before coming to a stop right beside the racecar, revealing a man with red and yellow hair.

"That's not exactly the best vehicle for stunt driving." Sylvia mocked. "You could have killed me if you hit me with that."

"Dude, that's what I was trying to do." The man replied with a sly smirk. "The name's Sypher. I'm the boss of this zone."

"A boss, huh? I guess that explains why you're the only one." Syvlia shrugged. "Not that it matters. Fewer opponents means an easier fight."

"Hey, I didn't steal Duck's invitation to get mocked, pal." Sypher said as he drove ahead a bit and turned around to face Sylvia. "I'm going to beat you and win this thing to get that wish!"

Sylvia narrowed her eyes and activated the visor on her helmet to prepare for battle. This guy was cocky, overconfident and had entered with someone else's invitation. That was a triple-strike in Sylvia's book, so she made it her goal to wipe that smirk off Sypher's face and to do it fast.

**(After Battle)**

Sylvia had just dealt the final blow. An explosion erupted from somewhere in the engine, making the hood of Sweet Tooth, Syper's ice cream truck, fly off and land several feet away.

"N-No! This can't be!!" Sypher cried in disbelief as his truck started to break down. "How could I lose?!"

That was all Sypher could get out before Sweet Tooth exploded in a ball of fire. The visor on Sylvia's helmet retracted, giving view of her eyes again.

"That's what he gets, although I doubt he's learned his lesson." Sylvia said as she turned and drove off the lot.

**(Pre-Level Five)**

The competition was getting tougher, but Sylvia managed two more wins to grant her access to the next round. Sylvia was told to go to a construction yard to await her next battle. Like the parking lot earlier, Sylvia found the construction yard empty when she arrived.

"Looks like another boss fight." Sylvia noted. "I need to keep prepared for anything this next guy may dish out."

Hearing an engine revving up, Sylvia found herself looking upwards, towards a dirt ramp leading into the 'arena'. A large vehicle shot off the ramp and soared overtop of Twister before landing on the ground. When Sylvia took a better look, it was a dump truck.

"Now THAT was an interesting stunt move." Sylvia said. "I take it that you're the next boss, am I right?"

"Yes." The brown-haired man driving the dump truck nodded. "My name's Flint Marko, but most people know me as 'Sandman'."

"Wait a minute. You're a big name where I come from." Sylvia said. "You didn't happen to steal your invitation like the last boss did, did you?"

"I entered this legitimately, but I need the wish." Sandman replied, revving up his vehicle. "I have to take you down to get to the end and get that wish, and I'm going to see to it that I get it."

"I know that you want the wish, but I do as well." Sylvia said. "You're unfortunately in my way. I won't hesitate to take you out."

**(After Battle)**

Sandman's eyes widened as he looked around at Manslaughter, his dump truck. Parts were starting to fall off and explosions were starting to erupt all around the vehicle.

"No! NO!" Sandman cried. "PENNY!!"

With that, Manslaughter exploded, sending the sand it was carrying scattering all over the construction site.

Twister was sitting just outside the blast radius and sand splatted the ground several feet away from it. Sitting in the driver's seat, Sylvia folded her arms asnd sighed. She flet bad for doing that, especially after hearing that he may have had a pretty good reason for entering. It almost made her feel guilty…

A few seconds later, Sylvia twisted the keys in the ignition, starting Twister again. With this victory, she was still in the running for the wish. She had to think about Sandman later…

"He seemed like he was entering for a good reason." Sylvia noted as she drove off. "I hope he won't be mad at me later…"

**(Pre-Level Seven)**

Sylvia realized how much some of these people wanted the prize wish at the end, because the fights were getting even harder now. Even still, Sylvia managed two more wins before being told to go to a castle courtyard to await her next fight. Sylvia arrived at her destination, but found this arena empty upon arrival.

"Clearly another boss fight." Sylvia concluded. "I'm afraid of how determined-"

Sylvia didn't get a chance to finish her sentence, because the gates on the other side of the courtyard were burst open. A huge vehicle barreled into the courtyard and came to a halt. Sylvia jumped in slight surprise, but relaxed when she saw the huge vehicle, identified as some sort of oil tanker, come to a stop.

"Who would drive an oil tanker in a game like this?" Sylvia asked. "Are you some kind of stuntman or something?"

A furry, red head leaned out the driver's window. "Animal win contest!" The creature shouted determinedly. "Animal get wish and everything better!"

"I guess I spoke too soon." Sylvia lifted an eyebrow.

When she saw how determined her opponent was, Sylvia told herself to up the ante, but steer clear of the tanker. Sylvia may have done her own stunts, but an exploding oil tanker would be suicide to be near…

**(After Battle)**

Animal didn't even get to shout in disbelief. Minion, the huge oil tanker he was driving, exploded in a huge ball of fire, sending debris and pieces of the metal monstrosity flying in all directions.

One piece of Minion flew straight towards Twister. The piece struck the side of the racecar, sending it for a spin and throwing Sylvia around inside it. Twister slammed into the side of one of the gates, bringing the car to an abrupt halt, but Sylvia had hit her head and had fallen unconscious.

Sylvia was slumped over in her seat, passed out, as Minion continued to burn. As she was unconscious, a familiar memory floated through her head, reminding her of why she was there in the first place.

"_Daddy, I've been looking at this new script…"_

"_**Oh, yes? I think it's definitely one of my better ones…"**_

"_But daddy, why is my role as a damsel in distress? Come on, you know that I get sick of those roles…"_

"_**Sylvia, it's not you. The fans just love Joe at the moment. They'll warm up to you."**_

"_But they won't if I'm never given a role that they like!"_

"_**I'm sorry, dear. You know that I'd give you a better role if I could."**_

"_It's just…I feel that this is my biggest chance ever to get recognition, and it's being wasted on roles like this. I can be a hero!"_

"_**You ARE a hero, Sylvia. Just wait it out for now and I promise that I'll get you the role you deserve."**_

"…_I just don't want to be an old lady when that happens…"_

Sylvia slowly drifted back to consciousness as she sat straight. That conversation she had with Captain Blue was a long time ago and Sylvia's roles still hadn't changed. She trusted her father that she would get better roles when the audience liked her more, but with the movies portraying her as someone that constantly needed rescuing, she wasn't sure if that time would ever happen.

"Once I win, I can finally get out of these stupid roles." Sylvia said. "Hopefully, this isn't a hoax. If this contest was all for nothing..."

Deciding not to finish her thought, Sylvia started Twister and threw it into gear. Sylvia took off and drove out of the courtyard to continue the contest.

**(Level Eight)**

Sylvia almost couldn't believe it. She had somehow made it to the final fight against the last boss in the contest. Sylvia was close to the wish and she knew it, but she also knew that her opponent would be just as determined to get rid of her. Sylvia drove onto the rooftop of a skyscraper for her final battle, but found it devoid of life.

"This is it. The final round. I can't believe it's come to this." Sylvia said to herself. "I can only wonder how tough the final boss will be."

Suddenly hearing another car driving onto the scene, Sylvia turned her head and saw a large, black version of Sweet Tooth driving onto the roof. The driver was a VERY disturbed individual.

"So you're the last one standing, eh?" Needles Kane, the psychotic clown and Twisted Metal mascot when the contest still belonged to Calypso, laughed. "This'll be easy! Those Roberts siblings will rue the day they banished me from the tournament!"

"I've heard of you from Joe. He's always liked this contest." Sylvia said in remembrance. "But if you were banned, why are you even back?"

"Isn't it obvious? I sneaked in and took the place of the final boss those new owners picked." Needles said with an insane grin. "And now, all that's left for me to do is to wipe you out."

"I've come too far to lose to someone who isn't supposed to even be here." Sylvia shook her head. "I've fought monsters more terrifying than you, clown. Observe."

**(Ending)**

Carl and Jamie Roberts stood on a large, round platform, awaiting the winner of the contest to enter the 'lair', which looked more like a junkyard with all of the broken car parts scattered around.

Suddenly, the large doors at the other side of the lair opened and in rode a car, the winning vehicle.

Jamie noticed the blue racecar and smirked. "Isn't that Thumper?" She asked her brother.

"Indeed it is." Carl nodded as the vehicle came to a stop. "And that can only mean that the winner is…"

Sylvia leapt out of Twister and landed gracefully on her feet. Pressing a button to deactivate her helmet's visor, Sylvia removed her helmet, revealing the long, blonde hair underneath. Sylvia walked up to the platform with her helmet under her shoulder.

"Sylvia, girlfriend of popular superhero Viewtiful Joe." Carl greeted. "Congratulations. You've won this year's Twisted Metal contest."

"You needn't worry about the others. They're all fine." Jamie added. "Some of our best mechanics are rebuilding their vehicles so that they can get back home safely."

"You may claim your prize, Sylvia." Carl pointed out. "One wish, whatever your heart desires, will be granted."

"My career as a superhero started when I was kidnapped by a movie villain, whom turned out to be my father, having lost his way. When my boyfriend donned a suit to save me, I received a suit as well and became his partner." Sylvia explained. "Since then, we've been going through the world of movies to fight evil, and gaining popularity outside of the screen as well."

"We've heard of you two. Unfortunately, we also have a feeling of what happens next." Jamie sighed. "So what is your wish?"

"Yes. We're curious as to what your wish is." Carl added.

"People started paying attention to Joe more. Not that I mind, but this meant that my father was giving me degrading roles in his films to give Joe more spotlight." Sylvia explained. "In most of the movies he's done, I'm portrayed as a helpless sidekick that has to rely on Joe for everything. Because of this, I've been losing the respect of the audience. Normally, I wouldn't care, but…For some reason, I can't help but want things to change. Officers, I want people to see me as a hero and not a sidekick. I just don't like all of the bad rep I've been getting."

The siblings looked at each other and nodded before turning back to the victor. "Granted." They said as one as they lifted their arms into the air. Strange, blue energy flew from the arms of both siblings before flying into the air, igniting in an orb of light. After a couple of seconds, the light exploded in a bright explosion, blinding Sylvia.

111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

Sylvia, donned in her superhero suit, kicked a monster in the chin, sending it sprawling. Sylvia quickly turned and started beating on the monster's compatriots. Within seconds, Sylvia was standing over all of the monsters in the area triumphantly.

"And cut!" Captain Blue said from the director's chair. "Great work, Sylvia!"

Sylvia's public opinion went positive almost instantly. With a couple more films with progressively-better roles, Sylvia had a fanbase again, almost as big as Joe's. Sylvia never would have wanted to be more popular than Joe, but as long as she was relatively close, it was fine with her.

Sylvia grinned as she stepped off the mountain of monsters (which groaned in pain with every step she took), walking over to her father. "You think the fans will like this one, daddy?" She asked.

"Of course. Now that you're almost as popular as Joe, the fans have been screaming for a side-project." Captain Blue nodded. "With you in your own movie, I'm sure it'll attract even more people to watch the others."

"No more damsel roles?" Sylvia asked hopefully.

"No more damsel roles, dear." Blue nodded with a smile. "The fans see you as an independent hero, now."

"That's all I've ever wanted, dad." Sylvia explained. "So where's Joe? Is he still on the set for his next film?"

"Yes, actually. He's scheduled to do his fight against Alastor soon." Blue said, checking his watch. "You'd better head over there, dear. Your part's coming up, soon."

"On it, dad." Sylvia said as she raced over to the next set. Granted, she didn't have as big of a role in Joe's movie because she was doing her own, but at least she didn't need to be rescued here.

A dark-haired man saw Sylvia coming over and placed a purple helmet on his head. "About time you showed up!" Alastor snapped.

"Hey! You don't have to be rude!" Sylvia said.

"Don't mind him, Sylvia." Joe explained. "He's just jealous that you got a spin-off movie before he did."

"I'm the awesome, mysterious rival to the main hero!" Alastor ranted. "My fanbase is as big as Joe's is! I deserve a spin-off!"

Sylvia sighed and slapped herself on the forehead. This shoot was going to be painful…

END

Author's note: Yeah. This is it. I've decided not to do the three bosses because I realized that they're not technically contestants.

Well, I've finally got this done. It feels so good to get this out of the way. Now I can focus on a few other things.


End file.
